The Change
by marksmom
Summary: AR-Bill and Charlie have been hinting all year that they are interested.  Harry decides to look like he wants to, for once.  Rated M for slash, language, mpreg with a side order of Bill/Severus.  Now Completed
1. Chapter 1

Harry was pretty sure that this is _not_ what Molly had meant when she sent Harry, Ron and Hermione out into Muggle London to buy Harry some new clothes. But, if Harry was footing the bill for a whole new wardrobe for himself, it was going to consist of what _he_ wanted to wear.

The clothing that the Dursleys had kept providing was sadly out of shape and far too large for Harry to wear. He had never been allowed to wear anything but what the Dursleys gave him. Now, it was going to be different. He was seventeen and had defeated Voldemort, so his life was just beginning. He had one more year at Hogwarts and wanted this year to be one to remember, considering that he would rather forget the rest.

Hermione had actually giggled when he had told them what he wanted to do. Ron's eyes went wide, then he had given Harry a huge toothy grin. "Wicked!" That had been all the encouragement he had needed.

The first place that he had gone was to a jeweler's, to get his ear pierced. He had wanted that for so long, ever since he'd first seen Bill Weasley's earring. The jeweler who pierced his ear tried to talk him into getting his eyebrow done, but Harry vetoed that...he thought the earring, a simple black onyx stud, was enough of a statement. He did, however, buy a small silver hoop earring, so that he could change into that when his piercing had healed.

After the piercing, he had dragged them all over Camden Market, looking for just the right clothes. He had seen, and studied, pictures of Muggle bands wearing quasi-military clothes. That was the look he was going for. He wanted to look radically different than how he had been allowed to look before.

He went into a large eyeglass chain store that promised new glasses in under an hour. He picked out a pair of frames that accented his narrow face and square jaw. They were silver and rectangular and made his eyes stand out. The advertisement said that they were unbreakable. He would put that claim to the test during quidditch practice and games.

He found the perfect jacket in a small shop, specializing in something called 'Emo'. Black with a silver military type grid on the front, it had a small stand-up collar and large silver buttons down the sides of the chest. It showed off his body in a way that he would never have been able to pull off before, but then again, he _had_ filled out over the last year, finally. It clung to his shoulders and chest, stopping just above his narrow hips. He bought three of them, each black and silver, with different military styling on them. He then got a dozen plain black t-shirts and several pairs of tight denims in black and several in other colours, called 'skinny jeans' by the heavily made up young man behind the counter. He also bought some plain blue denims, to wear when he didn't feel like dressing, and more t-shirts and hooded sweatshirts to go with them.

He bought two pairs of black leather boots, also in a military style, but not the clunky, heavy type used in the military now. These boots looked like they were from another time, maybe from about 200 years ago. They fitted his feet and calves perfectly, following the lines of his legs, and had silver buckles all the way up the outside of the boots. Since he needed them, he also bought several pairs of plain black trainers. As they were leaving the store, a pair of sneakers caught Ron's eye. They were American basketball sneakers called Converse. They were high topped and were black. Harry bought three pairs of these for himself and two pairs for Ron, against his objections.

He went to a hair salon and got a haircut. He had the really nice stylist show him how to make the most of his naturally messy hair. She sold him several types of hair gel and hair spray, along with shampoo. Hermione had asked her where to go next, so that Harry could complete the look. She thought about it, then sent them two doors up from the salon. She told them that the shop was patronized by a lot of 'Emo' clientele.

As soon as Harry walked through the doors, a slim, effeminate man started gushing about how he could make him look like 'a million pounds'. This part of the transformation involved about an hour of instruction, for himself and Hermione, on how to properly apply eye liner and other forms of Muggle makeup. Ron just watched and shook his head, trying not to laugh. Harry left the shop, initially feeling very self-conscious and several hundred pounds lighter in his money bag, but, as he noticed the admiring looks he was receiving from both women _and_ men, he decided that he liked it.

The trio then went to Harrods. He told them to pick out something for themselves, whatever they wanted. Ron's jaw dropped. "Harry, this place is expensive!" Harry looked at Ron and grinned. "So what? You two are my family and I want to buy my family something. So...go find something! I'll wait here." Ron didn't know it, but Harry had enough gold, in several Gringotts' vaults, to pay off the national debt of Great Britain, the United States and several other large countries. They were his family and he just wanted to make them happy.

Ron came back, about forty five minutes later, to where Harry sat, drinking a cup of coffee. He had a leather bomber jacket and three pairs of black denims that would accentuate his legs and bum very nicely. Harry smiled. "Anything else?" Ron blushed and asked if he could get his mum and dad something from the grocery that Harrods had.

Harry waved him off, waiting for Hermione. She came back with a smaller version of the same bomber jacket Ron had picked out, furthering Harry's belief that they were two halves of the same soul. She also had several bra and knickers sets that he knew Ron was going to love. Harry asked her the same question. "Anything else?" She stammered for a minute and then took off for the shoe department. He hoped she bought some shamelessly high heels to go with the knickers, for Ron to enjoy.

Harry was enjoying himself immensely. He had never done anything like this and thought that it should be a yearly outing for them. He loved making other people happy and these two people meant the world to him.

Harry had an agenda for this year. He had a reason for wanting to change the way he looked. Ron had told him that both Charlie and Bill were going to be teaching at Hogwarts this year. Bill as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and Charlie as the Care of Magical Creatures instructor since Hagrid had retired to France with Olympe. They had both dropped hints to him over the last year, that they might be interested in him. Bill's divorce from Fleur had become final only two months ago. Charlie, however, was the one that Harry was most interested in. He was the one who had started Harry on this transformation.

Charlie had mentioned, in passing, that Harry would have looked great in the military uniforms from the early 1800s. He had noticed that Harry was starting to finally fill out and grow into his shoulders. Harry had looked up those uniforms in the library at Number 12 Grimmauld Place and had been shocked. Charlie wanted him to look like _that_? The uniforms consisted of tight breeches, knee high boots and a tight uniform jacket. This had started Harry thinking. He had seen a number of pictures of Muggle bands wearing stuff like that, but mostly in black. If he could find clothes like that, then he would definitely wear them. The fact that Ron's brothers were interested in him had had a liberating effect on his personality. It had seemed a god send, then, when Molly had made the suggestion of replacing his wardrobe.

When both Ron and Hermione came back, he left them, drinking tea and enjoying a sweet, while he went to find underwear and a coat for himself. He, again, wanted something different in regards to the shorts. Not the normal Y-fronts or boxers. The man in the department led him to a selection of American style boxer-briefs. Made of the same material as his Y-fronts, they were like skin tight boxers. He bought quite a few pairs of them, so that he could get rid of the shorts he had. He also bought several pairs of black socks and several pairs of black trouser socks, to wear under the boots.

The coat was easy to find. He wanted a black leather trench coat. He had wanted one for a long time, and now that he could, he was going to buy one. He found one that had soft, buttery feeling leather. He tried it on. The man in that department came over to ask if he needed any help. The lust in the older man's eyes was enough to do two things. One, it convinced him to buy the coat and, two, it made him want to get out of that area as quickly as he could.

He met up with Ron and Hermione again and he paid for their purchases. They made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron and then went into Diagon Alley. They paused for a few minutes to shrink down their purchases, so that they had room to carry their 7th year books and supplies. Harry needed new robes, so they went to Madame Maulkin's shop first. He found the perfect robes to go with his new clothes. They were regulation black with three large silver clasps up the front and two silver toggle closures at the neck...perfect for the military jackets he had bought earlier. He bought three of these. He also got two new pairs of black uniform pants, a couple new white shirts and three new Gryffindor ties. He also bought Ron two new sets of robes as Ron had shot up a few inches in the last year and his shoulders had gotten more broad. He tried to talk Hermione into letting him buy her some new robes, but she refused. She hadn't grown any, so her old robes still fit.

They stopped at Gringotts, so that Harry could refill his money bag again. The goblins looked at him oddly. It wasn't often that they saw customers withdrawing money twice in one day.

They picked up their books, parchment and quills and shrunk them down, too. Harry wanted to get a new owl. Hedwig had died during the war, and he wanted to be able to write to Remus and Sirius. He bought a beautiful black and white owl that was somewhat smaller than Hedwig had been, but still looked hardy enough to deliver letters and packages. He named the owl Archimedes; the intelligent black eyes looked back at him and Archimedes hooted softly in acceptance.

~OOooOO~

They made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron and flooed to the Burrow. Molly took one look at Harry and screamed.

"That is NOT what I meant when I sent you to buy new clothing, young man!"

"I know, but these are the clothes that I wanted, so I bought them. What's the point of buying new clothing if I don't like what I'm buying?" Molly couldn't really argue that point, so she gave up. She gave him a good once-over and stopped at the earring.

"That is ALSO not something I would have wanted you to do...or the makeup." She paused. "But, for some reason, Harry, it looks good on you." She kissed his cheek. Harry had filled out quite a bit over the last year and no longer looked like a starving waif. He was still much smaller than Ron, but the look he was going for fit well with his new physique. Years of quidditch and the last year of fighting had given him a lean, muscular build with broad shoulders, narrow hips and very muscular legs.

Fred and George, visiting for the day, had heard their mother's scream and came into the kitchen. Their jaws dropped when they saw Harry. Harry was surprised when George's eyes started roving over his body, taking in the new clothes. He had an almost hungry look on his face. Harry leaned over to Ron. "You didn't tell me about George."

Ron looked at his brother and shook his head. "Didn't _know_ about George. Guess we can add him to the list with Bill and Charlie, eh?" He looked at Harry, smiling. "So, which one of them did you do this for?"

Harry flushed lightly. "You'll know as soon as he sees me." George's reaction unnerved Harry slightly. George was _not_ the Weasley brother that he wanted to attract. Not that George was unattractive, he just wasn't...Charlie.

The trio went upstairs to pack away their purchases. They were leaving for Hogwarts in two days, so they wanted to make sure everything was ready. Before he went back downstairs, Harry gathered his old clothing in a pile and charmed it to float behind him.

"Molly? Where can I get rid of this stuff? I don't even think a charity would take it." She looked at the large pile of clothing and had Harry follow her outside.

"The rubbish pile is over there, dear. Just put that on the pile to the left. We'll burn them later tonight and have a party to celebrate." She smiled, eyes twinkling, reminding him of the twins. They walked back inside the Burrow.

Ginny was sitting at the table talking to Hermione. She stopped speaking mid-sentence when she saw Harry. She turned an interesting shade of light green. Hermione turned to see what she was looking at, and smirked at Harry. He knew that meant he had been the subject of their conversation. Ginny looked at him up and down. "I guess this means you really _aren't_ interested in me, doesn't it?"

Harry hated to hurt Ginny. He sighed and sat down next to her. "Ginny...I'm sorry. I've told you several times that it wouldn't work between us...I told you why. I don't know why this upsets you now."

She blushed and ducked her head. "I guess that I just didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to think that you would actually like boys."

"Men, Ginny, I prefer men. That doesn't mean that we can't be friends."

Her eyes lit up. "Does that mean we can go trolling together?"

Harry recoiled in disgust. "Um...no, it doesn't. First thing, I **won't** go _trolling_ and second, you're underage. Your Mum would kill me."

"You had better believe I would! Besides, both of you are too good to go out roaming through pubs looking for men! Merlin only knows what would happen to either one of you!" Molly's stern voice and angry face would have been enough to put Harry off of it, even if he _would_ do something like that. He already knew who he wanted, he just hoped that his choice wanted him as much.


	2. Chapter 2

~OOooOO~

Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny sat in the living room and talked about the upcoming school year. The trio was looking forward to an uncomplicated year for once. Hermione was already talking about N.E.W.T.s and how she hoped she would do well. Ron snickered at that comment. "Love, when _haven't_ you done well? You know you're the smartest witch Hogwarts has ever seen. It's been confirmed. McGonagall told us that your grades have surpassed even You-Know-Who's grades when he was there." Hermione blushed.

Harry was just looking forward to a year at school where no one was trying to kill him. That's all he wanted. A nice, sane, boring school year. _"Well, maybe not boring,"_ he thought, smiling to himself.

"Dears, dinner is ready."

They all trooped into the kitchen and sat at the table. Molly's cooking was legendary and Harry was definitely going to miss this when they went back to Hogwarts. The food at Hogwarts was good, but it just didn't compare to Molly's. The meal passed quietly, except for when Arthur got his first look at Harry.

"What did you do to yourself, Harry? What's that on your eyes?" The confusion in his tone made the twins laugh and Ron and Hermione hid their mirth behind their napkins. "Is this some new fad?" He looked at Ron, as if expecting him to look just like Harry.

"No, Arthur, it's not. This is how I want to dress, now that I can. Since I don't have to answer to anyone but me about my clothing choices, I decided to look the way I want to."

"Well...alright, but I'm not really sure that I like that look on you." Arthur went back to eating. Apparently, it didn't bother him as much as he thought.

Dinner was over and Harry was leaning on the counter next to Hermione, talking to her as she washed the dishes. Ron, George and Ginny sat at the table, trying to convince Arthur that it was alright for Harry to dress how he wanted. Fred had gone back to the store.

They heard talking as Bill and Charlie walked into the kitchen from the apparation point in the garden. They had been at Hogwarts, settling their things in. This would be their last night at the Burrow until the Christmas holiday. Bill stopped suddenly as he saw Harry. His eyes slowly looked Harry over, head to toe, and he flushed slightly. He smiled, showing his teeth, allowing the wolf out for a moment. _Not Bill then,_ thought Ron. Bill was definitely interested, but he didn't have the reaction Ron was looking for.

"Nice, Harry. Went shopping, did you?" Bill's tongue shot out quickly to lick his lips. He flushed again when he saw that Ron and Hermione were watching his reaction to Harry's new look.

Charlie looked up at Harry and he froze, his lips parting on a silent gasp. Ron looked back and forth between Harry and Charlie, a small smile on his lips. Harry had been right. He had said that he would know, and he did. Charlie's reaction spoke louder than words.

"H-Harry?" Charlie still hadn't moved, except to grab the back of one of the kitchen chairs.

Harry smiled, a wicked little grin. He stepped away from the counter and, holding his arms out at his sides, spun around slowly. Hermione shook her head and went back to washing the dishes, trying hard to control her laughter. Charlie's eyes got wider as he took in the whole ensemble. His face flushed as he tried, and failed miserably, to control his reaction to seeing Harry in his new clothes. He was hard and Harry knew it.

"Took your advice on what would look good on me. Do you like it?" Harry looked into Charlie's eyes, noting the slightly glazed expression in them. Charlie couldn't seem to form coherent words right then. He nodded, dazed, then took off out of the room as if followed by all the hounds of Hell. Harry heard his quick footsteps on the stairs and then the muted slam of his bedroom door.

"Well now, _that_ was unexpected. D'you suppose he didn't like the boots or something?"

Bill choked on the pumpkin juice he was drinking. "You're wicked, Harry." He moved over to Harry's side and, ignoring everyone else in the room, whispered in Harry's ear "If he decides he _doesn't_ like what you've done, come find me." Bill turned and walked from the room, an odd hitch in his step.

The room exploded in laughter. Even Molly joined in. Arthur just looked confused until George took pity on him and explained.

"_Really?"_ Arthur looked at Harry and then at the empty doorway. "_Both_ of them? Well, this ought to be _interesting!_"

~OOooOO~

Bill and Charlie walked into the Burrow, talking about how great it was going to be, teaching at Hogwarts. Charlie had given up working at the dragon reserves after he got his latest burn. He wanted to stop before one of the dragons got really mad and toasted him. Bill had just wanted a change, after the divorce from Fleur.

Charlie wasn't paying any attention to where he was going until he almost ran into Bill's back. He put his hands up, could feel the tension in Bill's muscles and wondered what had made Bill tense up like that.

"Nice, Harry. Went shopping, did you?" Bill's voice was also tense and Charlie looked up.

Looked straight at Harry. It had to be Harry. Everyone else either had red hair or was female. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe. He blindly reached out a hand for one of the chairs, so that he didn't collapse into a puddle of twenty-six year old hormones on the floor. This was not the same Harry that he had seen just that morning. "H-Harry?"

Harry had changed. _Really_ changed. Starting at Harry's head, he took in the new haircut, which made his normally messy hair look like something out of a magazine. His eyes moved down to meet Harry's, accentuated by the eyeliner and mascara. The addition of those two things seemed to make the green eyes just that much more intense behind the rectangular frames of his new glasses. He saw the black stud in Harry's ear and clenched his teeth, so that he wouldn't moan out loud.

Moving down from Harry's face, his helpless gaze took in Harry's clothes. Harry moved away from the counter and very slowly turned around, showing Charlie just _what_ he was wearing. Charlie's mouth immediately dried out. _I was right_, he thought in a daze. _He does look good in a uniform!_ He dropped his eyes to the denims and boots Harry was wearing and thought that his cock was going to burst out from behind his zipper. _Gods! How the HELL am I supposed to resist THAT?_

"Took your advice on what would look good on me. Do you like it?"

Charlie felt himself nod slowly. He couldn't take it anymore. Before he did something stupid, like grabbing Harry and apparating them away, he turned and all but ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Once he reached his room, he shut the door with a thud and leaned back against it, breathing hard. His denims were uncomfortably tight and he pressed on the front of them with the palm of his hand, trying to will his erection away. It didn't work.

He moved away from the door, throwing up a locking spell and a silencing spell. He quickly opened his jeans and pushed them down to his knees. Leaning back against the door, he wrapped his hand around his cock and began to stroke himself almost desperately. It took less than a minute before he came, moaning Harry's name. Supporting himself against the door, he muttered a cleaning spell and tucked himself back into his denims. He slid down the door to sit on the floor and tried to breathe normally. He undid the locking and silencing spells.

He heard Bill slowly come up the stairs. He knocked on Charlie's door and then tried to open it.

"Charlie? Open up."

Charlie moved away to sit in the middle of his bedroom floor. He waved his wand at the door and it opened slightly. Bill came in and closed the door behind him. He took one look at Charlie and put up the same silencing spell that Charlie had just removed.

"That was...interesting. By the way, if Harry didn't know that you were interested in him before, he knows it now." Bill was trying to make himself more comfortable in his trousers, but not succeeding very well. _Great_, thought Charlie. _Bill's attracted to Harry, too_. That was just really depressing. He knew that, if it came down to it, he couldn't compete with Bill. Bill was everything he wasn't. Good-looking, tall, mysterious. Charlie was just...Charlie.

Bill looked at Charlie and saw the forlorn look on his face. Bill sighed. "C'mon Charlie...say something."

Charlie sighed. "Pretty juvenile of me, huh?" He stood up and moved to sit on his bed. "What now? We've never been attracted to the same person before."

"Charlie, this isn't a competition. Whether he wants you, whether he wants me, or whether he decides he doesn't want either of us, it's up to him." Bill sat beside him on the bed.

"You're right." Charlie sighed heavily. "I can't stay here, though." Charlie looked at Bill. "I know I'll be around him at Hogwarts, but there I'll be able to limit contact. Here...that's not going to happen. Even if it is just one day."

Bill looked thoughtful. "Maybe neither of us should stay; I'm not going to let you go back alone. Let's just tell Mum and Dad that we came to get a few things and then go back to Hogwarts. We can spend the night getting pissed in that new hut of yours."

Charlie nodded. That seemed to be the best idea. He wasn't going to be able to control himself around Harry, here at the Burrow. He didn't think his mum would appreciate him trying to seduce her adopted son under her roof. He stood and gathered a few more things to take back to Hogwarts. Bill stood and went to his room to do the same. They met on the stairs a few minutes later, and went down.

Harry was still in the kitchen with Molly, Arthur, Ginny and George. Bill noticed that George was sitting very close to Harry, talking to him about the store. George's eyes never left Harry. _Okay, add George to the list of Harry's conquests. Didn't know he leaned that way, too._

Charlie drew a breath. "Mum, Dad. Bill and I are going back to Hogwarts. There's some things that I need to get settled before the term starts. Mostly trying to figure out where to put the rest of Hagrid's things, until he comes back for them."

Harry looked at him. "Oh, you're going to be using Hagrid's hut, then?" Harry held his gaze for a very uncomfortable minute. Charlie was pretty sure that Harry was watching him for any sign of a reaction. He could feel himself start to flush and nodded. He hastily looked at his mother and father. Looked anywhere but at Harry, who just sat there looking like sin come to life. He missed the slight grin playing about the corners of Harry's lips. Bill didn't. He thought that hut of Hagrid's was probably going to be used quite frequently, for things other than sleeping, once Charlie accepted that Harry wanted him also and wasn't just teasing.

"Oh, but you just got here...and we won't see you again until the Christmas holidays. Are you sure you need to leave?" While curious about what was going on between her second son and Harry, Molly didn't want Charlie or Bill to leave without a proper meal. "Sit down and eat something before you go then." She would talk to Harry after they left.

Charlie and Bill sat on the opposite side of the table from Harry. They ate, mostly in silence, but answered questions put to them by their parents and siblings. Harry was disappointed that they wouldn't be staying the night. Bill looked up at Harry, his breath catching again. "We're going to be at Hogwarts all year...you'll see us there." Charlie nodded in agreement, not trusting himself to speak. Ron and Hermione were out walking, but came inside to say goodbye, saying that they would see them in two days. Then they went off by themselves again, earning a shake of Molly's head. _Young love_, she thought.

They finished and stood up. They gave their mother and father each a hug and kissed Molly's cheek. Charlie picked Ginny up and spun her around, making her laugh. He hugged her tightly. While he knew she didn't like the fact that she wasn't going to get to be with Harry, he also knew she wouldn't be alone long. His baby sister was getting to be quite pretty. He made a mental note to talk to Bill about watching her carefully. He put one arm around George's shoulders and gave him a quick hug. He leaned over and quietly growled one word in George's ear, "Mine!" George turned pale and nodded, swallowing quickly and keeping his eyes on the table. Charlie looked at Harry and grinned. Making sure to keep his body from touching Harry's he gave him the same one armed hug he gave George. "See you at the school."

Harry nodded, snaking his arm around Charlie's waist and squeezing slightly. He heard Charlie's indrawn breath and felt him tense. Gratified by the reaction, he slowly let go and smiled at Bill. "See you there, then." He was a little surprised at Bill's wink...he thought that Bill knew that he was trying to snare Charlie. This school year might be _much_ more interesting than he'd thought. He just hoped that he wouldn't come between the two brothers. It was bad enough that he'd hurt Ginny.

The brothers left the kitchen and disapparated from the garden. Molly turned to Harry. "Alright, Harry, what's going on?"

Harry flushed and smiled. "Well, over the last year both of your oldest sons have been hinting, rather broadly, mind you, that they were interested in me."

Molly's jaw dropped. "Bill, too? But his divorce from Fleur just became final two months ago..." Her voice trailed off. "Oh! Please tell me that isn't the reason they got divorced!"

George shook his head. "No, Mum. Harry isn't the reason for the divorce. Fleur was sleeping around on Bill." Molly's face turned a really unhealthy shade of red. Her voice shook with anger. "Cheating? On **MY** son? Why would she want to cheat on Bill?"

"Mum, she's part Veela, she can attract almost any man she wants, and she decided that she wanted quite a few men besides Bill. Bill didn't talk about it, because it hurt too much."

"How did you find out?" Molly was almost in tears, thinking about the pain Bill had been in.

"He came into the store one night at closing, about a year ago, really drunk. Told me about it...then told me that he'd filed with the Ministry for a divorce and passed out on our sofa. She fought it at first, then gave up when she realized he was serious. If he does get together with anyone again, it probably won't be a woman. She's kind of put him off of women."

Molly started crying for her eldest son. It was bad enough that they had lost Percy to the war, but now, for Bill to go through something like this...she almost couldn't take it. She felt strong arms surround her. Harry leaned his head, so that his cheek rested on the top of her head as she cried. Molly felt the comforting emotions rolling off of Harry and being absorbed into her heart and mind. _He must be an empath_, she thought. _To be able to comfort me like this. This bodes well for Charlie or Bill, whichever one he chooses._

Molly wiped her tears and sat back against the chair. Harry sat next to her, keeping one arm around her shoulders, so that the comforting contact continued. Ginny and George's eyes were wide. When Harry had been holding their mother, a greenish glow had surrounded them. Arthur had seen it before. With empaths, it wasn't an odd thing for their aura to become visible when comforting someone, especially when it was someone they loved. This only confirmed Arthur's feeling that Harry was a much more powerful wizard than _anyone_ gave him credit for.

"Well, Harry. Since both of our oldest sons have decided that they are interested in you, which one are _you_ interested in?" Arthur thought it was Charlie, judging from Charlie's reaction to Harry's new look, but he wanted to be sure, because Bill had reacted to Harry as well. He just wanted there to be no surprises.

Harry blushed. He didn't want anyone's help in making Charlie realize how deeply Harry felt for him. "No offense, Arthur, but, that's my business right now. When I've made my feelings known to him, and he agrees to be with me, then you'll know. But, until then, please...no interfering. He has to come to the realization on his own, or it won't happen at all."

Arthur and Molly nodded, agreeing with Harry. Both Bill and Charlie were headstrong and stubborn. If someone interfered now, it might mean that neither they nor Harry would end up happy. Catching Molly's eye, Arthur nodded again. She returned the nod, smiling slightly.

"We promise...we won't say anything." She paused, looking at the rest of her children, gathered around the table. "You lot won't say anything, either. Especially not you Ginny. It won't help anything if you do." Molly turned to look at Harry. "I am assuming Ron and Hermione already know."

"I think so...I've not come right out and said anything. So they may be guessing, too." Harry smiled slightly. Ron knew, he was positive about that. That meant that Hermione knew as well. Ron couldn't keep anything a secret from her. That was okay with Harry. They, of all the people he knew, deserved to know from the start. They had been through so much together.

Harry got up from the table and wandered outside. He saw Ron and Hermione sitting on a bench off to the side of the garden. They watched him approach. They had been waiting for him and wanted to hear what the family had said.

"Well?" As usual, Ron wanted to know everything right away. Hermione smacked Ron lightly on the arm. "Let him sit down before you start interrogating him!" Harry grinned and, with a wave of his hand, conjured a blanket for him to sit on. Ron and Hermione stared, still not used to Harry being able to do magic exclusively without a wand. He had been able to do some wandless magic, almost from the moment of Voldemort's death. It had only gotten stronger since then.

"Well, they all know that both Bill and Charlie are interested in me. Arthur thinks that it's Charlie, Ginny thinks it's Bill, Molly _wants_ it to be Bill and George wants me for himself." He looked at Ron's gaping mouth and Hermione's wide eyes. "Legilimency has its uses." He shrugged and grinned again.

"That's not what it's supposed to be used for, Harry!" Hermione knew that Harry was a very skilled Legilimens, but didn't want him to use his skills for anything other than what they were supposed to be used for.

"It's to be used when a situation warrants it...I think that this situation warrants it." Harry was unrepentant.

"Dad's right, though. It is Charlie, isn't it?" Ron remembered his brother's reaction to Harry and, if he knew Charlie, he had run up the stairs to wank. He wouldn't tell Harry that, though. Letting Harry do things his own way was usually the best.

Harry nodded. "Keep that to yourselves, though. He needs to realize that I'm not teasing, that I'm not going to change back once we get to Hogwarts."

"Oh!" Both men looked at Hermione as she started to laugh. "I can't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces when they see you, Harry! It's going to be priceless!" They all started to laugh at the thought of some of the reactions that were bound to happen.

Ron chuckled. "The one I'm looking forward to is Malfoy's reaction. You know he thinks he's King Shite. Can't wait to see him realize that he's not." Harry smiled, thinking of finally getting one over on the blonde Slytherin. Whether he had come over to their side or not, Harry wasn't sure he could ever like Draco Malfoy.


	3. Chapter 3

~OOooOO~

Two days later, they all made their way to Platform 9 3/4. The looks Harry was receiving made walking into the crush worthwhile. It seemed as though everyone moved out of his way, whispering behind their hands and pointing at him. He stayed with Ron, Hermione and Ginny as they all said their goodbyes to Molly and Arthur. Molly motioned to Harry to follow her.

"Harry, I've spoken to Ron about this, but I want you to please keep an eye on Ginny for me. She's grown up so quickly, what with the war and everything. I don't want her to be hurt."

Harry was stunned. "You trust me with watching over Ginny for you?"

Molly nodded. "You are like my son, I trust you." She hugged him hard. "Owl me and let me know if she starts dating anyone, alright?"

Harry nodded back. He started running for the train, as it was beginning to move. "I will, Molly. I promise!" He jumped into the doorway of the car that Ron had reserved for them. "We'll see you at Christmas!" He blew Molly a kiss and went inside the car.

Arthur put his arm around Molly and hugged her close. "I still think it's Charlie, no matter that you think it's Bill." Molly turned to look at her husband. "A galleon says that it's Bill." Arthur smiled. "Make it two and you're on!"

~OOooOO~

The train ride to Hogwarts was fairly uneventful. Neville came and joined them, after a while. Harry noticed that he paid little attention to how Harry looked, for which Harry was eternally grateful, and was almost drooling over Ginny. Ron had noticed, too, and was quiet but watchful. Ginny had noticed as well and wasn't quite sure _what_ to think. Neville had gotten his teeth fixed and had filled out somewhat. He seemed to have grown several inches and his shoulders were more broad. Maybe he'd just gained confidence from helping Harry fight Voldemort.

After another hour, Seamus Finnegan came in and took a seat. Ginny's eyes widened as she looked over Seamus. He hadn't grown in height, but the war had given him muscles, definition, and a few well-placed scars that hadn't been there at the beginning of the last school year. She was intrigued. Harry looked at Ron and nodded slightly. This was one to watch. Seamus turned his head to say something to Harry and his eyes grew wide.

"What th'Hell did you do to yourself Harry?" Seamus was confused. This man looked nothing like the boy he had last seen.

Harry laughed. "Just decided to be me, now that I'm finally allowed to."

"You a poof?" Seamus turned red. "Not that there's anything wrong with you being a poof, but I thought..." He looked back at Ginny, talking to Neville and Hermione about classes. Seamus leaned forward. "You not with Ginny anymore?"

Harry shook his head. "No, I realized that she and I weren't meant to be together." Seamus brightened.

"That mean I have a chance now?" He looked at Ron quickly. "If that's alright with you, Ron? Seein' how she's your sister and all, I probably should ask if you mind."

Ron was shocked. Seamus was asking for his permission to date his sister. "That's up to her, mate. But, mind you, if you hurt her, Harry and I will have something to say about that."

Seamus looked at Harry. He nodded slowly, running his fingers lightly over his useless wand. Seamus gave Harry a wary look and nodded. Seamus had been at the final battle and had seen Harry in action. He was _not_ someone Seamus wanted to piss off. Seamus turned and joined the conversation happening at the other end of the seats.

Harry had a hard time holding back his laughter. Ron seemed to be having the same problem. "You gonna get that looked at?" Ron quietly motioned toward Harry's hands. "I can't see it, but, McGonagall might have a problem with you not needing a wand anymore." His voice was quiet. No one but he and Hermione knew about Harry's ability to do wandless magic.

"Yeah...I'll ask her after the banquet tonight."

They both looked up at a slight commotion outside of the doors to the compartment. Draco Malfoy stood in the doorway, arms braced against the door jamb. The stunned look on his face made both Harry and Ron grin slightly.

Harry's grin faded as he saw that Draco's breathing was a little fast and there was a stain of pink in the other man's cheeks. _Shite! Not him, anyone but him!_ Harry thought a little wildly.

Ron noticed that Malfoy hadn't blinked once since he had laid eyes on Harry. _Oh Damn! Harry's not going to like that!_ Ron recognized the signs of lust in the other man's face. _Yep! Really not going to like that!_

"Need something, Draco?" Harry decided to take the bull by the horns. He really did _not_ want Draco Malfoy lusting after him.

Malfoy blinked and straightened and pulled his robes tighter around him. "No, just wanted to see what everyone was talking about. Nice boots, Potter." He turned and walked away, bumping into the wall first, before regaining his composure.

Hermione's wide eyes met Harry's, then Ron's. She was struggling not to laugh. Ron leaned forward, so that he wouldn't have to raise his voice above a whisper. "Sorry mate, that wasn't the reaction I'd imagined him having. Nasty, that."

Harry nodded. He felt almost dirty from the lust in Draco's eyes. He felt like he needed to bathe. "Nasty is exactly how I would put it. Ugh!"

Ron looked at Ginny. "Well, we don't need to have to worry about him going after Ginny, now do we?" Harry shook his head, good humour restored.

"Definitely not. However, you might want to watch _my_ back for me, please!" Ron relaxed when he saw the laughter in Harry's eyes. He nodded in agreement.

Harry leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes. The thought of Draco Malfoy lusting after him made his skin crawl. He wondered who else he was going to get that kind of a reaction from. He knew Justin Finch-Fletchley was bi, and so was Colin Creevey. He just hoped none of the other Slytherins would find him attractive. Ugh, again!

~OOooOO~

He must have fallen asleep, because the next thing he knew, Ron was shaking him gently to wake him. "C'mon Sleeping Beauty! About 5 more minutes and we'll be there."

Harry stretched and pulled out a small mirror to check the eyeliner around his eyes. Hermione had taught him a neat little spell to keep the liner from running if he fell asleep with it on or if it got wet. _Nope, looks good_, he thought. He stood and started gathering his things. He pulled his robes on and gained another strange look from Seamus. Seamus shook his head and went back to charming Ginny. _That seems to be going well. Still, need to watch him._ Harry saw that Ron was also watching Seamus. _Glad we're on the same wavelength._

The Hogwarts' Express came to a stop and everyone slowly filed off of the train. The second through seventh year students took the carriages up to the castle to wait for the first year students to arrive by boat. That was now Charlie's job, bringing the students up to the castle. Harry wondered who would be doing McGonagall's job of welcoming the first years. He knew that Minerva McGonagall was now Headmistress, but he didn't know who the deputy head-whatever was. Knowing Harry's luck, it would be Snape.

The students filed into the Great Hall and sat at their respective tables. Slytherin to the far left, Ravenclaw next to them, Gryffindor, then Hufflepuff. Harry went to a seat toward the end of the Gryffindor table, nearest to the doors to the Great Hall, but didn't sit down yet. He was aware of the appraising and curious looks coming from the head table and raised his head proudly, to see the teachers...all of them...staring at him.

McGonagall gaped when she realized that, yes, that _was_ Harry down there. Her eyes were about as wide as Harry had ever seen them. Many of the teachers had the same look on their faces. Bill was almost laughing, but Harry could see the want, the lust, in his eyes. The teacher that caught Harry's attention, though, was Severus Snape. Harry saw the confusion, followed quickly by shock, on Snape's face as he realized who he was looking at. _Not the Deputy Headmaster, then,_ Harry thought. The shock was followed by something else, something too quick for Harry to define. Harry sat in his seat.

Charlie came in and sat down next to Bill. His eyes quickly roamed over the students until he saw Harry. The look in Charlie's eyes was worth the extra effort Harry had taken that morning with his hair, clothing and makeup. He saw, almost felt, Charlie's breathing hitch. Bill turned to Charlie and asked him a question. Charlie reluctantly turned his head to answer Bill, nodding in response.

The doors to the Great Hall opened and everyone looked to see the first year students being led in by Remus Lupin and a very large, shaggy black dog. Harry stood back up to watch his two godfathers lead the students to the head table. Remus nodded at him as he walked past, a look of bemusement on his face at the change in Harry. Once the first years were in front of the head table, the large black dog came back down the center aisle and stopped at Harry's side. Harry put out his right hand to stroke the back of the dog. Everyone was watching them, as if waiting for something to happen. Harry removed his hand and heard a loud gasp from the tables. He looked to his right and Sirius Black was standing next to him, smiling. Harry smiled and gave Sirius a quick hug before sitting back down. The other students moved a bit, to make room for Sirius, and he sat next to Harry. The sorting went quickly, after the hat sang its song. The new students took seats at their house tables and Professor McGonagall stood.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. This year, as the older students will notice, there have been some changes in the staff. Replacing Professor Horace Slughorn, William Weasley will be assuming the role of the Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor." She allowed time for loud applause, mostly from the Gryffindor table. "Replacing Hagrid as the Keeper of the Keys and Grounds and the Care of Magical Creatures instructor, is Charles Weasley." Again, loud applause from the Gryffindor table. "Assuming the position of Transfiguration Professor, and replacing myself as Head of Gryffindor House, is Remus Lupin." Loud cheers and whistles from all four tables. Remus flushed; he had acquitted himself well during the final battle. "And, finally, replacing Argus Filch as the castle caretaker, and assuming the position of Deputy Headmaster, Sirius Black." Harry hugged his godfather, a huge smile on his face. He hadn't known about Remus and Sirius becoming staff at Hogwarts. The cheers were loudest for Sirius. He had overcome years in Azkaban and being on the run, before being cleared of all charges by the Wizengamot at the end of the last school year. He and Remus had stood next to Harry, at the very beginning of the summer, as he had finally killed Voldemort. They had kept the Death Eaters from coming near and had allowed Harry to concentrate all his magical power on destroying the Dark Lord. Minerva, seeing this, had been reminded strongly of years ago, of the two men with James Potter. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Charlie and Bill had, according to Harry's plan, stood back a bit and had picked off any of the Death Eaters stupid enough to try a second time. There had been quite a few, Lucius Malfoy among them. Malfoy had tried to kill Ron with the killing curse, but Percy had shoved Ron aside, taking the curse directly in the chest. Ron had gotten quite a lot of pleasure out of being able to take Malfoy out, permanently. For Percy.

Minerva wasn't done. "I have one more thing I would like to say...I am hoping this is will be a wonderfully uneventful year, here at Hogwarts. We have had too much death around us recently and, now, that is over. We have many people, some of them now gone, to thank for finally ending the reign of Voldemort." Almost everyone in the Hall flinched, including McGonagall. "I waited until now to bestow the Head Boy and Head Girl badges. I wasn't certain that there would be a Hogwarts to come back to, so, I waited. I am pleased to announce that the Head Girl for this year is Hermione Granger." The Hall burst into loud applause and cheering. Hermione blushed to the roots of her hair. "The Head Boy badge will actually be worn by **two** _very_ deserving young men. Without their sacrifice, along with that of Miss Granger, we would not be here today. The Head Boys for this year are Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter." The resounding cheers felt like they should have lifted the ceiling off of the Great Hall. Harry and Ron grinned at each other. Minerva asked for them to come forward.

As one, Harry, Ron and Hermione moved forward up the center aisle, Harry and Ron on either side of Hermione. When they reached the head table, everyone went absolutely silent. McGonagall smiled as she pinned the Head Girl badge on Hermione's robes. Then, everyone watched as Minerva levitated the Head Boy badge in the air. It was surrounded by a glowing red and gold light, which burst, making everyone look away. When they looked back, two Head Boy badges floated in the air before her. She plucked one out of the air and pinned it to Ron's robes, smiling again. She slowly took the other badge in both of her hands and looked at Harry. Everyone in the Hall could hear what she said as she pinned the badge onto Harry's robes. "Thank you...for everything you did, for everything you have given up, from the time you were an infant. You did this for us...for everyone. Thank you, all three of you, for saving us, so that we could come back and honour you...our heroes." The cheers started again as the trio turned to look out at the Great Hall. They walked back to their seats, still silent, in a kind of shock. Never, in all the years of Hogwarts, had there ever been more than one Head Boy. Now, this year, there were two. Harry looked at Ron. Ron looked at Harry. They reached for Hermione and they all hugged each other. All three of them were crying, but it didn't seem to matter.


	4. Chapter 4

~OOooOO~

The banquet seemed to fly by. After everyone had eaten their fill, the prefects escorted the students to their respective houses. Harry left Ron and Hermione, talking to Sirius, to speak to Professor McGonagall. She met him in front of the head table and he pulled her further away. She looked at him, questioningly.

"Professor, there's something I need to talk to you about." Harry began.

"You mean other than the earring and the makeup?" McGonagall asked, smiling.

"Yes...I have a slight problem with my wand. I noticed it right after the final battle and it's only gotten worse since then." Harry paused, not really sure how to say what he needed to tell her. She placed a hand on his shoulder, encouraging him to continue. "My wand doesn't work anymore, or rather, I don't _need_ my wand anymore. I can do everything with just my hands." Harry waited, holding his breath.

Minerva's eyes went very wide and she paled slightly. "You-you don't need your wand? Show me, Harry. Show me." There was instant silence at the head table.

Harry stood back, very conscious of the stares of all the teachers, including Charlie, Bill and Snape. Mimicking a move that Albus Dumbledore had made at the end of Harry's first year, he brought his hands together once and pulled them apart, palms open and facing out. The buntings and wall hangings in the Great Hall all changed from the different house colours to the Gryffindor scarlet and gold. The gasps of the teachers were loud in the silent hall. He could feel Sirius' stare from down the hall. He bent his head toward Hermione as she spoke, presumably to explain to him about the wandless magic, but kept his eyes on Harry. Professor Snape pushed his way forward to stand in front of Harry.

He looked at Harry's hands and asked, "May I?" Harry nodded and Severus Snape took Harry's hands in his. He looked at them and then turned them over, looking at the backs. He released Harry's hands and stepped back, shaking his head. Harry assumed he had been looking for a mark of some sort. Minerva motioned to Poppy Pomfrey, the Hogwarts mediwitch. Madame Pomfrey came forward and ran her wand over and around Harry's body.

"Minerva! His magical abilities are completely off the scales! I've _never_ seen anything like this!" She ran her wand over him a few more times. "Are you able to do _all_ of your magic without your wand?"

"Yes...my wand doesn't work for me at all anymore." There were several more gasps from the instructors as the meaning of this sank in. Albus Dumbledore, even Voldemort, had needed to use a wand for certain things...but Harry didn't. Before them stood the most powerful wizard the world had ever seen. And he wasn't even 18 years old yet.

Minerva turned Harry around, so that he could see where Sirius stood with Ron and Hermione, staring at him. "Hand me your wand." Her voice shook. Harry gave Minerva his wand. "Apparate to them, Harry. You _still _need a wand to apparate."

He looked at her strangely. "The wards won't let me apparate."

"The wards have been down since the battle. We haven't told anyone yet, other than the teachers. No one knew how they had been put up, and we haven't been able to figure it out yet." Harry nodded.

Harry thought for a moment, and then, turning away from Sirius' shocked eyes, looked back up the hall at the instructors, still standing at the head table. He thought again, and was back in front of Professor McGonagall. Her jaw dropped open briefly, but she recovered quickly. "Merlin, Harry! How long have you been able to do this?" She handed his wand to Madame Pomfrey.

"It started right after I destroyed Voldemort. I began to notice that I was able to do more and more without my wand. I didn't tell anyone, at first, because I couldn't control it well, and then only told Ron and Hermione, once I was more confident. Now, my wand doesn't work at all. This isn't...normal...is it?" Harry was still afraid of being labeled a 'freak'.

"No, but Harry, remember something. You destroyed You-Kn...Voldemort. Severus and I are positive you absorbed Albus' magic when he died. You may have absorbed Voldemort's magic as well, when you destroyed him. You were, after all, his final horcrux, remember?" Harry nodded slowly.

Harry heard the sound of shocked breaths and turned to look at Remus, Bill and Charlie. They hadn't known about that. Snape had known it, Minerva had as well. But no one else, save Ron and Hermione, had known. The horror and pain in Remus' eyes made Harry reach out a hand to him. Remus took it and pulled him into a hug. "Pup! Why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you tell us?"

Harry looked down at his feet. "I-I wasn't sure how anyone would take it. I had a piece of that bastard's soul somewhere in my body, and the only way to get it out was to kill him...or be killed _by_ him, which would have killed him anyway, because mine was the last piece. Ron, Hermione and I had already destroyed the rest." Charlie closed his eyes when Harry talked about being killed by Voldemort. He was very blunt about it, as if it didn't really matter. But, to Charlie, it _did_ matter. He couldn't imagine a life without Harry. He felt Bill's hand gently rubbing his back. It came to rest on his lower back, giving him support. "He survived, Charlie. He won." Bill's whisper reached him and brought him back to himself.

Everyone was staring at Harry as if he had grown a second head, and it was spouting Shakespeare. He hated being looked at like a freak.

Charlie knew only a tiny bit about Harry's upbringing, but he knew it hadn't been a good one. Not like the one all of the Weasleys had, knowing they were loved and wanted. Ron had told them about Harry's being told by the Dursleys that he was a freak. He reached out and put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "It doesn't matter anymore. You're here, he's not. You succeeded. You are _not_ a freak, Harry. Remember that."

He felt Harry's shiver and his body answered with one of its own. He let go of Harry and stepped back. Bill was watching him closely. He had to get control of himself or _everyone_ would know how he felt about Harry, not just Bill.

Bill made up his mind, right then. He wasn't going to pursue Harry. No matter that he still wanted him, he wouldn't go after him. In his mind, Harry and Charlie now belonged to each other. He smiled slightly. Now he was going to be able to try and go after the one he had wanted for the last twelve years. Finally.

Minerva looked at Harry. "This really doesn't change anything, you know. You still have classes you need to take. The only one it may affect is Potions." She looked at Snape. "Is it the magic in the wand or in the wizard that supplies the final ingredient in the potions?"

"It's both. The wand holds its own magic, while the magic of the wizard intensifies the magic from the wand. This may affect your ability to make potions properly." Snape looked at Harry thoughtfully. "We won't know until you try to brew your first potion. If your wand no longer accepts your magic, you will have to be excused from Potions classes. There is no way to change that result. I will watch your first potion carefully, to see if it is affected by the lack of magic in your wand."

Harry nodded. "I don't want to get out of my classes. I still need to learn things. But I don't want the wandless magic to cause problems." Severus was surprised that Harry wasn't going to use this as a reason to get out of classes.

"Well, as I said, I will watch the first potion you make. If it doesn't end up as it is supposed to, I am going to recommend that you be switched to a different class. One where you _will_ be able to do as is required."

Harry smiled at them both. "Good. I really don't want to be treated differently because of this. It isn't like I can control it. And, like I said, there are things I still need to learn."

Snape nodded his head slowly. For some reason, Potter was having a really strange effect on him and he wanted to leave as quickly as possible, before it got worse. He nodded at Minerva, nodded to the rest of the instructors and then left, robes billowing behind him. He never noticed the set of bright blue eyes following his progress out of the Hall.

Madame Pomfrey handed Harry his wand. "I can't find any trace of magic left in it. It's like it was drained out into your hands. I would like to have a look at some books I have, to see if this has ever happened before." She left the Great Hall, her mind already sifting through her books.

Ron, Hermione and Sirius came up to the head table. "You alright, mate?" Ron was concerned. He knew how much Harry hated to be singled out, the new look aside.

Harry nodded. "I may not be able to take Potions anymore, though. If there's no magic in my wand, the potions won't turn out right." He turned to look at the headmistress. "Do you think another wand would work? I could try getting a new wand." He actually _wanted_ to finish Potions properly, not like this.

"Let's see how this goes first, Harry. I don't want you to purchase another wand, if it's going to be useless as well. I would, however, recommend that you don't touch anyone else's wand. We don't want their wand to be drained of it's magic as well." She would contact Mr. Ollivander tomorrow morning, to see if there was anything he could do. Maybe he could come up with a solution.

Harry agreed quickly. He didn't want to cause anyone problems because of this new ability.

"Now, it's getting late. You will need to see to your new rooms. Hermione, you will have your own room. I have requested a second Head Boy's room for you, Harry. But, until it's ready, you will need to share with Ron." The two young men nodded. "Now, off to bed with you. Oh, the password is 'Oddment'."

The trio turned and left the hall. Minerva watched, silently, until the doors closed behind them. She turned to the teachers. "Nothing will be said about this new ability of Harry's. The students will notice on their own. It will be impossible to keep it from them, especially if Harry has to transfer out of his Potions class. I want each of you that has Harry in class to watch his magic carefully. I need to know if he's in complete control of it. If not, he will have to have extra lessons to learn to control it." She turned to Sirius. "Your job will be more difficult. You will need to make sure that nothing in the castle starts to behave strangely. If you notice anything out of the ordinary, I need to know about it immediately. Is that understood?"

Sirius accepted his task with a simple nod of his head. He was not going to risk his new positions by keeping something from Minerva, even if Harry was his godson. Merlin knew he needed something to occupy his time. He certainly didn't need the money.

Minerva pursed her lips as she thought of something else. "This is not information to give to anyone in the Ministry of Magic. If they find out about this, it could cause a panic. We don't want Harry to be taken into custody to be studied like an animal. So, not a word. Agreed?"

~OOooOO~

As Ron and Harry got ready for bed, they talked about the effect Harry's wandless magic would have on the other students.

"I can almost guarantee that they're going to want to learn to do it, too." Ron thought it was just another burden on Harry. This wasn't something he'd asked for, it had just happened.

"I don't know that this _can_ be learned. Sure, some spells can be done that way, but _all_ of them? I've never heard of that before. I'm not exactly happy about it, either. I did really want to finish out Potions. I rather like making potions." Harry sat on the second bed in the room and started removing the eyeliner.

Ron chuckled. "You gonna wear that stuff all the time? Or only when you know you'll be seeing Charlie?"

Harry laughed. "That 'stuff', as you call it, goes along with everything else. If I decide not to wear the makeup, I'll wear the plain denims and a sweatshirt."

Ron smiled. "So, every once in a while, you'll look like the old Harry?"

Harry threw a pillow at him. "Yes, you prat, occasionally I will."

"Good...y'know, sometimes I miss him."

"Hey! I'm still in the room, here!" Harry smiled. "And it's not like I changed my personality or who I am, just the way I look."

"I know, s'just hard to get used to. G'nite Harry."

"Night Ron."


	5. Chapter 5

~OOooOO~

Potions class was an unmitigated disaster. Harry's final potion, instead of being a light green colour, was a putrid brown swirling mess. He knew that Professor Snape had watched him carefully, making sure he added the right ingredients at exactly the right times. It still turned out wrong. He sighed and looked at Snape. He'd really wanted to be able to continue Potions classes.

Snape walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "See me after class. You may clean up Mr. Potter." He felt like crawling under a rock. Malfoy was staring at him, not sure whether to give in to lust or laughter at Harry's predicament. Hermione mouthed 'It's okay' at him and went back to stirring her potion.

Harry cleaned his cauldron, watching the brown goo swirl down the drain, along with his hopes of normalcy for this school year. This was going to get out, probably more quickly than he'd like. Then he'd look like a freak again. Merlin he hated being different.

He stayed slumped in his seat, his head bowed, until all the other 7th year students had left. Snape shut the door behind them and sat in the seat next to Harry. For a moment, he studied Harry's bowed head and dejected demeanor. Apparently, this had meant quite a lot to him, being able to finish Potions. Severus was not quite sure what to think of that.

"I'm sorry, Harry." Harry's head came up at the use of his first name. Snape _never_ called him by his first name. "I wish I had better news for you, but it appears that I was correct. Professor McGonagall informed me that you offered to buy a new wand, to see if that would make a difference. I don't think that it would help...you would probably drain the magic out of that wand, too."

Harry sighed. "I really wanted to finish Potions this year. I like making potions, believe it or not. There's something really neat in being able to brew something that could save someone's life, or allow them to be able to have children."

Severus was startled. He hadn't known that Harry liked Potions class. He always seemed to just do what was expected and hadn't really cared about the end result. Maybe there was more to Harry Potter, more than he had been allowed to express before. He began to wonder just how much Albus Dumbledore had pushed Potter down, to keep him from being able to express this wish until his 7th year. Maybe he'd been wrong about him all these years. Maybe...maybe he'd better get Potter out of his classroom, right now.

Snape stood up. "I will speak to Professor McGonagall. She will have to find another class for you to take at this time."

Harry nodded and stood to leave. As he reached the door, Snape said one last thing. "I am truly sorry, Harry. About everything." He turned, shock on his face, as Snape whirled away to leave by a back door. _Everything?_ Harry wondered if that meant all the years Snape had treated him like shite, too.

~OOooOO~

Harry sat in the Headmistress' office as she looked over the various schedules, trying to find another class for him to take. He had been questioned by no less than five people about his first Potions class. He had waved away the questions, saying that there was just a small problem with his wand. A problem that had started after the final battle. Everyone seemed to accept that and went away.

McGonagall cleared her throat. "There are two available classes, at that time, that would be appropriate for you to take. They will be classes you are already taking, but neither will be dull or boring. The first is Defense Against the Dark Arts and the second is Care of Magical Creatures. Do you have a preference as to which you take?"

Harry shook his head. "No. I think, though, that the DADA class would allow me to be more useful. Maybe Bill...Professor Weasley could actually use this ability of mine as a demonstration." And it would keep him from drooling over Charlie.

Minerva's eyes became thoughtful. "Yes...I can see how that would be very helpful to William. Very well, you will be taking a second Defense Against the Dark Arts class in your former Potions time slot." She paused. "Harry, I called Mr. Ollivander here this morning. He wants to look at your wand, to see if he can figure out what has happened to it. Please give him your wand."

Harry handed his wand over to the small, white haired man. Mr. Ollivander levitated the wand and then ran his own wand over it. A projection of numbers and symbols appeared above Harry's wand. Mr. Ollivander looked at the image and shook his head. "The magic has indeed been drained out of this wand. Allow me to look at your hands, please, Mr. Potter."

Harry stood and held out his hands, palms down. Mr. Ollivander ran his wand over Harry's hands and the same projection appeared. He studied the numbers and symbols, comparing them to the image above Harry's wand. "Yes...the magic is there, in your hands. This has never happened before to one of my wands. Not in all the years that I have been making them." He shook his head and, with a wave of his wand, dispersed the images and handed Harry his wand. "To my knowledge, there is no way to make a wand accept your magic. If you bought another wand, this would just happen again. I am sorry, Mr. Potter, but I wouldn't recommend purchasing another. I don't think that you would be able to drain the magic from anyone else's wand, however, because their wand is not keyed to your magic."

Harry nodded. He was already thinking about how he could assist Bill in his classes. He would leave it up to Professor McGonagall to inform Bill about the change.

"You may leave Harry. I will let Professor Weasley know that you will be joining his classes every Thursday morning, in addition to your Wednesday afternoon class."

"Thank you, Professor McGonagall."

~OOooOO~

Ron and Hermione were waiting for him outside of the Great Hall. As they went in for lunch, Ron asked him about the meeting.

"I get to take an extra DADA class now. There's no point in hiding the wandless magic anymore. Once this gets out, everyone will know."

"I'm sorry Harry. I know how much you wanted to have this be an uncomplicated school year." Hermione hugged him. He smiled sadly.

"Yeah, but how much about my life is ever normal? Seriously, just look at my childhood. How many people do you know that lived in a cupboard for almost 10 years of their life?"

Ron's face flushed in anger. "I wish I could just go and..."

"Ron...if anyone gets to blast the Dursleys into the Great Beyond, it's gonna be me!" Harry laughed.

Sirius walked over to their table and sat down next to Harry. "Are you alright, Harry? The teachers have all been told about you having to transfer out of Potions. The students don't know yet. They'll find out when you don't show up next week for Potions class, unless something happens before that."

Harry sighed. "Yeah...I was just hoping for a normal year this year." He snorted. "Hell, I don't even know what _normal_ is!" They all laughed.

Harry felt someone walk up behind him and stop. He turned to see Draco Malfoy, the pink colour back in his cheeks. He looked at Harry closely for a minute and then seemed to make up his mind about something.

"If you're having problems with Potions, Potter, I can offer myself as a private tutor for you." The pink in his cheeks flared to red. No one missed the slight emphasis he had put on the word 'private'.

Harry's mouth dropped open. _Not in the middle of the Great Hall!_ Malfoy was openly flirting with him in the middle of the Great Hall! _Merlin! If there ever was a time for me to suddenly decide to like girls, this would be it!_ Harry thought frantically.

Sirius stiffened and turned to look Draco in they eye. "If Harry needs tutoring in Potions, _I_ will tutor him, Mr. Malfoy. I was rather good at it when I attended Hogwarts." The red flared in Draco's cheeks again. Harry decided to step in.

"Sorry Malfoy, but I actually have to drop Potions. I'll be taking a double class of DADA instead." Draco looked at Harry, his eyes wide in shock.

"Why are you dropping Potions? I thought you liked it." This last statement told Harry just how much Draco had been watching him over the last few years. Ugh!

"I can't use my wand. It doesn't work. And I've been told by Mr. Ollivander that no wand will work for me now." Sirius' eyes grew wider and he stared at Harry's hands.

Draco noticed the direction of Sirius' gaze. "Wandless magic? Just how powerful are you, Potter?" The last was said in a lustful whisper.

Harry went white. Before he could answer, Hermione got up, grabbed Malfoy's arm and led Draco back to his table. "Stay there. Leave. Harry. Alone." She walked back to the Gryffindor table and sat down. "Idiot!" she huffed.

Everyone laughed, relieving much of the tension. Harry was still very pale, and Ron looked at him, concerned. "Alright there, Harry?"

"No, it'll take quite some time to get that" He waved his hand toward the Slytherin table "out of my head. Sirius, do you know how to Obliviate only _one_ thing, and not everything?"

Sirius chuckled. "Sorry, Harry. I'm not that good."


	6. Chapter 6

~OOooOO~

The next interesting class Harry had was Care of Magical Creatures. He didn't know how he was going to be able to take this class and not just melt into a puddle every time Charlie looked at him. He knew that Charlie was also wondering how to deal with the tension between them.

Charlie's answer was to keep eye contact with Harry to a minimum. He didn't need to lose his concentration in the middle of trying to teach something.

He had taken over an unused classroom for this first lesson and would use it again, during the winter months. With Bill's help, he had put up animated drawings of the animals that they would be studying. When he needed to show the classes a particular animal, he could bring that drawing out into the middle of the circle of tables and show the students the way the animal moved or what the animal did.

Harry thought that Charlie was really good at teaching. He was thorough with his explanations and answered any questions that came his way. He knew an awful lot about the different types of animals and was really informative. Not that Hagrid had been a bad teacher, he just wasn't this knowledgeable. Harry hoped that Charlie would continue to teach, beyond this one year. He was a great addition to the Hogwarts staff.

The first class consisted of learning about the different types of dragons, their magical make up and how each behaved in certain situations. Harry hoped that this meant that the first creature they would actually get to handle would be a dragon. A baby one, of course. He didn't think that McGonagall would allow Charlie to bring a full-grown dragon onto the school grounds.

Ron, Harry, Hermione and Seamus stayed after class to ask some more questions. Seamus seemed really interested in the dragons. Charlie asked him a couple of leading questions, just to gauge how real his interest was. From the answers Seamus gave, it seemed likely that he would be a very good dragon handler. He would talk with him about it, later in the year.

He wanted everyone to leave him and Harry alone. He wanted to see how much of Harry's interest was in the dragons and how much was interest in him. At least, he hoped it was interest in him that lit the fire in his green eyes. He couldn't exactly tell Ron and Hermione to bugger off, though. That would be just a little too obvious. Charlie was disappointed when Hermione reminded them that they needed to be at Charms class in just a few minutes. He said his goodbyes and watched them leave the room. Right before he disappeared, Harry turned around and winked. Then he was gone.

_Oh yes_, Charlie thought. _Definitely interested._

But how much?

~OOooOO~

Quidditch practice started very shortly after the term began. Harry and Ron shared the position of captain for the Gryffindor squad. It had been a conscious decision to share the responsibilities; neither of them wanted to oust the other as captain, so they agreed, with Remus' approval, to co-captain. It worked out well. Ron was the good captain, who made everyone agree to extra practices and Harry was the stern task-master who drove them into the ground. No one had been really sure if the change in Harry extended to quidditch. They soon found out that it had; it had made him more determined to win every game that Gryffindor played.

Charlie spoke to Remus about assisting the team, giving hints and helping during practices. Remus had sent him to Ron and Harry, saying that anything to do with the team was their decision, not his. Charlie offered his services to Ron first, then Harry. They both eagerly accepted. Harry remembered being told that, at one point, Charlie had been good enough have been courted by the English National Team. After watching him spar with several of the players, including Ginny, playing opposite him, Harry realized that he was still quite good. Probably not good enough for professional playing anymore, but definitely good enough to coach their team. Harry watched his teammates, looking for signs of weakness from lack of playing over the summer. He was perched sideways on his Firebolt, not far from the ground. Occasionally he would hear Ron shouting a command at someone, or Charlie shouting advice to Ginny, their second-string seeker who was a chaser when Harry played. Deciding he'd had enough of sitting out, he swung his leg over his broom, mounting properly.

Ron watched Harry mount his broom and take off into the sky. He saw Charlie and Ginny's heads turn as Harry shot between them and reached out. He brought his broom to a stop and held out his hand, the snitch held tightly in his fingers. Ron snickered slightly. Trust Harry to go from observer to seeker in less than 30 seconds. Charlie's jaw dropped and Ron laughed out loud. Charlie had never seen Harry play, not really. Just in the little pick-up games at the Burrow, but nothing really competitive and not with a real snitch. He was in for a surprise.

~OOooOO~

Ron was back by the goal hoops, shouting instructions to two new players, a chaser and a beater. Charlie and Ginny were both actively looking for the snitch. Ginny was shadowing him closely on his left, hoping she would see the snitch and that she could beat him to it. He was not prepared for the rush of wind that flew between them, nor for the hand that reached in front of him. He and Ginny both turned their heads, following the shadowy shape.

Charlie felt his jaw drop open when Harry came to a halt about 10 feet from them. He grinned slightly and held out his hand to show them the snitch that was trying hard to escape from his fingers.

Harry looked at Ginny. "If you hadn't been shadowing him so closely, you would have seen the snitch, just on his other side, about level with his shoulder. When you shadow someone, stay slightly behind them and to the right. Most people are right handed and he won't be able to turn cleanly in that direction if you're blocking him from that side. Fly with the tip of your handle about even with his arse." Harry flew closer to them and lowered his voice. "The snitches used in the games have a tendency to fly slightly to the right. Comes from being caught so many times. I don't know if anyone else has noticed it, but after about 2 years on the team, I began to watch the snitches. I don't know why they haven't replaced them. There's only so many times they can be repaired before they need replacing. Use that to your advantage."

Charlie was impressed. Gone was the flirtatious young man from his class this morning. In his place was a very serious quidditch player imparting much needed advice to a junior player. He wanted to watch Harry play. "I'll go down and watch from below. Show us...well, show Ginny what you mean. I want to see it too."

Harry nodded and Charlie flew down to where Harry had been just minutes before. He watched as Harry, talking the whole time, showed Ginny how to shadow someone a little more efficiently than she had been. It seemed as if Harry became a part of his broom when he was in the air. The effortless movements were almost like a ballet, perfectly seamless, moving from one motion directly into the next with no pause or awkwardness. He knew, without a doubt, that if Harry wanted to, he could very well make first-string seeker with any team he wanted. He was just that good.

Charlie shifted slightly on his broom. He could feel himself responding to Harry, even from this distance. Flying with a hard-on was no easy task. He'd better stay close to the ground, in case his 'problem' became more pronounced and he had to get off of his broom.

He found no hardship in watching Harry play. He hadn't realized that Harry was that damn good. He seemed to always see the snitch just before Ginny. Charlie also knew that, the few times that Ginny had caught the snitch, Harry had already seen it and let her catch it, so that he could critique her form She paid attention to Harry when he showed her a move or gave advice. Ginny wasn't a fool, she knew Harry didn't want her, but he was a damned good quidditch player and a captain of her team, so she listened and learned.

Ron watched Charlie watch Harry. The desire on Charlie's face was evident, even from his position by the goals. He wondered how long Charlie was going to wait before making a move on Harry. He needed to have a talk with Charlie first. He noted the sinking sun and called an end to the practice. Everyone landed in the center of the Quidditch pitch. Charlie joined them.

Harry spoke first. "Thanks everyone. That was good for a first practice. If anyone has any questions, please ask me or Ron, we'll be happy to answer. The next practice is scheduled for this Sunday at 1. Be a little early, so that you can suit up."

Ron spoke. "You'll have noticed that Professor Weasley was here, assisting. He played for the Gryffindor team, as seeker, when he was here. He'll answer any questions that you might have also. He's going to be helping me and Harry coach the team."

Everyone took off for the showers. Everyone except Harry. Charlie watched as Harry went into the locker room and gathered his clothing. He said something to Ron as he exited and then jumped on his Firebolt and flew back to the castle. From Ron's lack of reaction, this must be something Harry normally did.

Charlie joined Ron in the showers and began to scrub down. He was curious as to why Harry didn't shower with his teammates. "Where's Harry?"

Ron looked over at his brother. "He showers back at the castle after practices. If not, he's the last one in and the last one out. That's what he does after games, he waits until everyone is done." Ron rinsed the soap out of his hair and looked back to see Charlie still staring at him.

"Why?"

"Doesn't want anyone looking at his body, I guess. I know that, after the war, he came back with some nasty scars and stuff. I think he just doesn't want to have to explain to anyone where _all_ the scars came from." Ron paused, his face darkening. "Not all the scars are from the war, though. Most of them are from the _Muggles_ who raised him."

The disgust in Ron's voice when he said 'Muggles' was enough to make Charlie realize exactly what kind of scars he was talking about. "They _beat_ him?" Charlie whispered in horror.

"Beat him, starved him, abused him. It's a wonder he was able to hold up physically, let alone mentally, until he defeated You-Know-Who and could come to the Burrow to live. That's one of the reasons he's so small, I think. You know how a goldfish won't grow bigger if its bowl is small?" Charlie nodded. "Well, I think that's what happened with Harry. All of the pictures I've seen of his father show a tall man, Harry's only about 5'5" or 5'6". I think all of the abuse and starvation that the Muggles put him through, making him live in a small cupboard, stunted his growth."

Charlie slid down the tiles of the shower, staring at the far wall. "Charlie? I didn't tell you this for you to feel sorry for Harry. He won't want that from you. I told you so that you'd understand some of the things about him. Why he hates being different, why he thinks he's a freak. From what I've seen, he doesn't like most people to touch him. He also doesn't think that he's worthy of anyone's love and caring. Hermione and I have had a hell of a time getting him to accept ours. We still do."

Charlie tipped his head up and let the water run over his face, so that Ron wouldn't see the tears running down his cheeks. How could anyone treat a child like that? How could someone take an innocent baby and treat them so horribly that the child grew up thinking that they weren't worthy of affection? He felt Ron kneel next to him.

"Charlie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I just felt that you ought to know. I mean, if you and Harry...if you and he...well, you needed to know, so that you could take your time and not scare him. It'll take some convincing to get him to believe that he's really worthy of you. No matter that he flirts outrageously with you, he's still scared, though he'll never admit to it."

Charlie bowed his head. He needed to think. He looked back at Ron. "I don't feel pity for him. How could I? He didn't ask for that abuse. No one, child or adult, should be made to live through that. You know him best, you and Hermione. What is the best way to go about this? Convincing him that he _is_ worthy of love. I _do_ love him, Ron. More than I thought I could love another person. How do I do this?"

Ron knew that it took a lot for Charlie to be able to admit to his feelings and ask for help. "Let me talk to Hermione. We'll come up with a way to help. Harry's really skittish about some things, so let us help you. Okay?" Charlie nodded and drew a deep breath. He stood and finished his shower.

~OOooOO~

Harry looked around the common room. He was sitting in one of the oversized armchairs, just relaxing. It had been a good, but tiring practice today. If Ginny paid attention to just one of the things he had told her today, her game would improve for both positions, seeker and chaser. He had spoken to her before about going professional once she graduated. She was thinking about it, some really serious thought. Her parents might not like it, but she would be good as a professional quidditch player.

He saw Ron and Hermione, deep in discussion on the other side of the room. They'd had their heads together since Friday night's practice. He knew that they were in love with each other and couldn't be happier for them. He and Ron had talked about him buying Hermione a ring for Christmas. Ron had refused when Harry offered to front him the money for it.

~OOooOO~

"No, this is something I'm going to do on my own." Ron was adamant about that.

"I understand, but just listen, okay?" Ron looked at him. "If you don't have enough money for it, I would like to lend you the money...it won't be a gift. You would need to pay me back. This is something that I can't buy for Hermione. I know that you love her and want to ask her to marry you. I want to help make that possible. I want you two to be happy. If lending you the money will help make both of you happy, then I want to offer that option. You _**will**_ be paying me back."

Ron's eyes grew wide as he realized that, this time, Harry would demand that Ron pay him back. He was right. Harry couldn't buy this, but Ron couldn't afford to buy a ring right now. _Should I let him lend me the money? Knowing I won't be able to pay him back until after school, should I accept?_ Ron nodded mentally.

"Alright. I'll let you help...Harry can I borrow some money so that I can buy Hermione an engagement ring that she deserves? I'll pay you back as soon as I can, after I've found a job when we leave Hogwarts."

Harry smiled broadly. "Of course you can. The first Hogsmeade weekend is soon, so you can look then." He gave Ron a quick hug.

~OOooOO~

Charlie was chaperoning the first Hogsmeade weekend with Bill. They knew that there were certain couples they had to watch, to make sure that they didn't sneak away and get into trouble. The tavern owners knew that they weren't to rent rooms to anyone who didn't have proper identification as an adult. That didn't mean that the students couldn't still get up to no good. They agreed to watch opposite ends of the main street in Hogsmeade. That would make it harder for anyone to sneak away.

Charlie saw Hermione head into the book store after waving Ron and Harry off. They looked at each other and turned to head into the jewelry store. Wondering what was up, he slowly made his way to the front of the store. He looked in and his eyebrows rose. Ron was looking at rings. Engagement rings. Harry stood next to him and surreptitiously passed him a money bag, which Ron slipped into the pocket of his robes. Charlie smiled and walked away from the window a little. He didn't want to get caught watching Ron buy Hermione an engagement ring.

He glanced back at the window and saw Harry looking at something else, on the other side of the store from Ron. He pointed out something to the attendant and was shown a tray. Harry looked at them for a few minutes, trying to make a decision. Charlie watched Harry look quickly back at Ron before pointing at something. The attendant nodded and held up a silver chain with a pendant on it. He couldn't make out what the pendant was from where he was standing. Harry looked closely at it and nodded. The attendant quickly wrapped up the chain and Harry paid for it from a second money bag. Chuckling, Charlie moved away from the store. He started to walk to the Hogsmeade store for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He wanted to see Fred and George before heading back to the castle.

~OOooOO~

Harry was nervous. He wanted to buy something for Charlie for Christmas, but didn't know what. When he heard that both Charlie and Bill were going to be chaperoning the first Hogsmeade weekend he swore under his breath. He didn't want either of them to find out that he was loaning Ron money to buy a ring for Hermione. After watching Hermione walk into the book store, he and Ron headed for the jeweler's. They knew Hermione could be counted on to be in the store for at least an hour, possibly two.

As Ron started to look at the engagement rings, Harry slipped him the money bag he had brought with him. There would be more than enough in that bag to buy any ring that Ron picked out. He slowly wandered across the store, looking at things here and there. He came to the last case in front of the window. It held a selection of masculine chains in both silver and gold. He was about to keep walking when one chain caught his eye. He asked to see the tray the chain was on.

It was a beautiful silver chain, large enough to be masculine but not large enough to be gaudy. At the center of the chain hung a pendant in the form of a silver dragon. The dragon was detailed enough to look like it might breathe fire any second. Its eyes were two small emeralds, the same shade of green as Harry's eyes. He looked quickly at Ron, making sure that he was still occupied with the rings.

He asked the attendant to see the chain. She held it up for him, the light glinting off of the emerald eyes. He looked at it for a moment. He nodded. The attendant wrapped the chain and pendant up and he quickly paid for it. It was perfect for Charlie for Christmas. After dropping the package into his pocket, he wandered back over to Ron.

"Harry, what d'you think of this one?" Ron held up a simple diamond solitaire. Set in gold, it had small sapphires set into the band. Harry smiled.

"That's it, mate! That's perfect." Ron flushed and smiled. He nodded at the jeweler and paid for the ring. He carefully placed the box in his pocket and closed his hand around it. Ron kept his hand in his pocket for the rest of the trip.


	7. Chapter 7

~OOOooOO~

The weeks flew by. Harry was helping Bill in classes, both of them, by giving out small details about some of the Darker Arts that he had seen during his clashes with the Death Eaters and Voldemort. He kept the scarier stuff to himself. He wasn't ready to share that with anyone yet. He was still coming to terms with some of the things that had happened to him and things that had been done to him and others. Everyone now knew about Harry's ability to perform wandless magic, and how he had acquired that ability.

One day, after asking Harry if it would be okay, Bill brought in a rather large, dangerous looking snake. Bill started off the class by reminding them that, while Voldemort had used as snake as his familiar, snakes were not a creature to be feared. He asked Harry to come forward.

Slowly, Harry walked to the front of the room. This snake was smaller than Nagini had been, but it was still a little frightening for him to look at. Harry walked up to Bill and held out his hands. After gently placing the snake in Harry's arms, Bill turned to the class and spoke softly but in a commanding tone.

"This snake is non-venomous, but its bite will still hurt Harry quite a bit. Please, no sudden movements or noises. Harry will now demonstrate a _**very**_ Dark Art. It is called Parseltongue, it allows him to speak directly to the snake. He is a Parselmouth and, to our knowledge, Harry is the only wizard in the world who has this ability. It is not an ability that can be learned, so, please, don't ask."

The class watched with rapt attention as Harry began to have a conversation with the large green snake coiling itself around him.

_My name is Harry._

_You are frightened of me. Why?_

_It_'_s wise to have a healthy fear of a large animal, especially one I don't know._

_I will not harm you._

_I know. You reminded me of another snake I had met. A dangerous snake. But you're nothing like her._

_Nagini, I know. We have all heard about her and her treachery. Her master was one to be feared. But you killed him and set all of us free._

_You are quite beautiful, now that I let myself think about it._

_Thank you, Master._

_But I am not your Master._

_As of this moment, you are my Master, I will live and die for you. Please give me a name so that I may be forever by your side._

Bill noticed that the conversation was surprising Harry. He didn't know what was being said, but since Harry was no longer looking quite so tense, he let the conversation continue.

_Your name will be Kigyo, it is Hungarian for snake._

_Master, I am pleased._

_As am I. You will stay with me now. You will stay in my room when I have classes. Do you know how to get out of the castle to hunt?_

_Yes Master. There are many ways to get in and out._

_You will have to show me some, one day._

_Yes, Master._

Harry looked at Bill, a bemused expression on his face. "He says that I am now his master. His name is Kigyo."

Bill's eyes took in the way the snake lovingly coiled itself around Harry's waist and shoulders. He certainly wasn't going to try and argue with it. "You might want to run that past Professors McGonagall and Lupin. Just to make sure that it's alright to have the snake in the castle."

Harry nodded. He wasn't going to sit back down, and possibly frighten the other students. Kigyo refused to let go of him. The weight of the snake was oddly reassuring, but not heavy, like it was in the beginning.

_Why are you no longer heavy?_

_When you gave me my name, a spell activated that lightened my weight, so that I may be near you and not harm you._

_Thank you. So you are magical, not just a regular constrictor, that's good._

_The tall one, he said that you would have to ask to keep me. Why?_

_Having a large _snake, such as yourself, might frighten the other students. There is a spell that will allow the headmistress to speak with you for a short period of time. We will use it to explain your presence to her.

_You are a good Master. You wish to keep me with you._

Harry remained at Bill's desk for the remainder of the class. After everyone had left, Bill turned to look at Harry and the snake. Its head was resting on Harry's shoulder, giving the impression that it was asleep. Bill shook his head and moved to the fireplace. Throwing a bit of powder into it, he called "Professor McGonagall."

Minerva's head appeared in the green flames. "Yes Bill?"

"Are you able to come to my classroom? We might have a small problem with a snake."

~OOooOO~

Minerva added more powder and stepped into the flames. The sight that met her eyes was disconcerting, to say the least. Harry was leaning up against Bill's desk, gently stroking a very large constrictor that was coiled around him. As she looked, the snake raised its head and hissed gently in Harry's ear.

_Master, who is this one?_

_This is Minerva McGonagall, the Headmistress here at Hogwarts._

_So this is the one that must be asked if I may stay?_

_Yes, she'll have the final say in this._

Minerva watched the conversation between man and snake. She knew something odd had happened and wanted to find out what it was, as quickly as possible.

"Harry, please explain."

"Bill brought Kigyo in to demonstrate my Parseltongue. He, the snake, decided that I am his new master. If he stays in my room, am I allowed to keep him? He understands that he would need to stay there, so that he doesn't scare the other students."

"Is he magical?" This would be the deciding factor. If the snake was not, he couldn't stay.

"Yes. When I gave him his name, a spell activated that allowed me to carry him, without feeling his weight. If I may, I know a spell that would allow you and Bill to speak with Kigyo."

At McGonagall's nod, Harry spoke the spell in Parseltongue.

'_Kigyo, that is your name, correct?'_

'_Yes, Madame.'_

'_You are a magical creature?'_

'_Yes, Madame. Many years ago, the white haired man released us into the Forest. He knew we were magical and did not wish to release us anywhere that we might be killed. The giant used to come and take care of us occasionally, but mostly we were left to our own devices. The flame haired one has been caring for us since the giant left.'_

'_Albus Dumbledore, the man who released you, is no longer alive.'_

'_We know. We were witness to his death at the hands of the dark one. It was not a killing, but a promise kept. We also saw my Master kill the Dark Lord, here on these grounds. His snake, Nagini, was a treacherous one, not to be trusted, for she carried a bit of the Dark Lord in her.'_

Minerva sighed. The snake knew too much to _not_ be magical. _'I will have your promise, Kigyo, that you will not harm any student, teacher or animal at this school. I hope that your word can be trusted __because, if not, your Master will pay the price for you. Is that understood?'_

'_Yes, Madame. You have my word. I will not harm anyone or anything at this school. My Master will not need to pay any price. I will keep my word.'_

Harry could feel the effects of the spell decreasing. "Professor, the spell is ending."

'_You will stay in Harry's room. There are ways out of the castle that you may take so as not to come in contact with the other students and teachers.'_

'_Yes, Madame. I know of several from the Gryffindor tower.'_

The effect of the spell ended. McGonagall looked at Harry. "I know you will keep a sharp eye out for him." She smiled slightly. "You always have been good with magical creatures, Harry."

Bill chuckled as the Headmistress left. "Harry, how are you going to explain this one to Mum and Dad at Christmas?"

"I don't know yet. I may not be able to go back to the Burrow. If Kigyo needs me to care for him, I _can't_ go." The thought was depressing. He had two weeks left before the Christmas holidays. He really wanted to be with Charlie for Christmas. He wanted to see him open his gift. If he couldn't go, he would have to send it with Ron.

_Master?_

_Yes Kigyo._

_This Burrow, you live there? When you do not live here?_

_Yes, it is my home._

_Then you must go to it. I will go back to the Forest until you return._

_Can you? I mean, you've formed a bond with me, can you just go back and live in the forest until I come back?_

_Yes Master. We are very resilient creatures. I will hibernate for one month, or until my senses tell me that my Master has come back. I will go now._

_Bill and I will take you back to Charlie. He's the one who has been caring for you._

_As you wish, Master._

Harry looked at Bill and grinned. "Kigyo says that I'm to go to the Burrow for Christmas. He'll go into hibernation until I come back. We need to take him to Charlie, so that he can be released into the forest. I won't go in there...bad memories."

Bill smiled at Harry. Charlie was going to be happy. He wouldn't have been if Harry hadn't been able to go home for the holidays. "Alright. Let's get your snake out to Charlie."

~OOooOO~

Charlie was waiting for Bill to bring the snake back to him. He was getting worried, Bill was late. He hoped nothing had gone wrong. He looked at the castle again and saw two people coming down the slope toward him. He knew one was Bill, from the height, but the other was...green and black? Harry. Harry was carrying the snake, and it was wrapped around him like a lover.

They reached Charlie and stopped. Harry looked at Charlie and smiled. "This is Kigyo. He's going back into the forest, but after the holiday, I'll be coming back for him."

The confusion in Charlie's face was humorous to Bill. "The snake has formed a bond with Harry. Harry's now his master."

The snake looked between Charlie and Harry, then hissed in Harry's ear.

_Master?_

_Yes?_

_The flame haired one...he is your mate? The feelings and emotions are strong between you._

_He will be, but he isn't yet._

_He knows this?_

_I'm not sure. I think so, but I'm not sure._

Kigyo uncoiled a little from Harry and began to coil around Charlie, too. This maneuver forced Charlie and Harry to step closer to each other, bodies almost touching. Kigyo could feel the desire for his Master rolling off of the flame haired man.

_Master._

_Kigyo, what are you doing?_

_He _desires you, Master. He is trying to hide it.

_Why? Why would he hide that from me._

_Master will need to find that out. I can only tell you that he desires you. I can feel the emotions. I can name them. I cannot tell why the flame haired one wants to hide them. My magic does not allow me that. It only allows me to be able to distinguish emotions._

_Thank you, Kigyo._

The snake uncoiled from Harry and coiled himself around Charlie. It unnerved him a little, but it was a comforting feeling. He noticed that the snake was not nearly as heavy as he had been when he had given the snake to Bill.

_Let your mate know that I will not harm him. I will watch over him. As you will be his mate, he will also be my Master. I will answer to him, as I do to you._

_I will, but not right now. Thank you Kigyo._

Charlie's eyes were really wide. He couldn't understand the conversation Harry was having with the snake, but, for some reason, he knew it was about him.

"Charlie, Kigyo said to tell you that he won't hurt you. He said that he will protect you."

"Can you thank him for me?" His voice was a little shaky, but fairly calm.

"He can understand us. Right, Kigyo?" The snake raised his head and nodded an affirmative at Harry. He looked at Charlie and flickered his tongue on Charlie's neck and hair. He wanted to make sure he knew his Master's mate's scent and taste before going back into the forest.

_I will leave now. Be safe Master. I will wait for you to come for me._

_You be safe, too, Kigyo._

Harry watched the snake slither into the snow covered brush. After Nagini, he hadn't thought he would ever want to get near another snake again, but Kigyo was different. The fact that he could sense the connection between him and Charlie was amazing. He hadn't thought that any animal could have that kind of magic. Kigyo had not, however, mentioned Bill. _I guess that means that Bill gave up. I'm kind of glad. I didn't want to get between them._

"Harry, how the hell did you end up having a four foot long constrictor choose you as his master?" Charlie was more confused than ever by this. He would have sworn that Harry didn't like snakes.

"I really don't know Charlie, but he did. I didn't want to be around snakes again, after Nagini bit your Dad. Kigyo is different, though."

"Why was he lighter when you brought him back? He weighed a lot more than that when I gave him to Bill."

"When I named him, a spell activated and he became much lighter so that I could carry him and it wouldn't hurt me."

Charlie saw Bill starting to edge away. "Where are you going?"

"Um, I have to get ready for my next class. See you later, Harry." Bill turned and walked quickly away, back toward the castle.

_Poor Charlie...first I scare the daylights out of him with Kigyo and now Bill acts like that. He's going to be a mess by the time the holidays get here._

"He doesn't have another class until after lunch. Do you know what's going on with him Harry?" Charlie looked curiously at Harry.

"No clue. He's been acting kind of funny lately, though. Want us to watch him for you?"

"Could you? If anyone knows their way around this castle, it's the three of you." Charlie hesitated. "When's your next class?" He wanted to spend some more time with Harry, but didn't want to be too obvious about it.

"Actually, now. I have History of Magic. Ugh. Was Professor Binns always this boring?"

Charlie laughed. "Yes. As far as I know, he was this boring while alive, too."

Harry chuckled. "I'd better get going. See you at lunch?"

"I'll be there."

Charlie watched Harry walk away from him. He was going to have to do something about him...but what?


	8. Chapter 8

~OOooOO~

The next two weeks sped by. There had been one more Hogsmeade weekend, to allow students to buy Christmas gifts. Charlie had headed there on his own. He needed to buy a gift for Harry. He had bought the others their gifts at the last Hogsmeade weekend.

Ron and Hermione had been trying to get Harry to tell them what he would like for Christmas, but had had no luck. Harry was difficult to buy for. He had enough money to buy anything he wanted.

Charlie headed into Honeydukes. He bought a large box of Chocolate Frogs for Harry and one for Ron. He knew Harry loved chocolate. He had watched Harry and Ron demolish a box of Romanian chocolate he had brought back for Ron when he'd left the reserve. The look on Harry's face had been pure bliss. It had made Charlie want to push him back against the wall and snog him until he couldn't taste the chocolate anymore.

He was disappointed that he couldn't find anything else that caught his eye. Looking at the jewelry store, he wondered if Harry would wear something he bought for him. He went in and headed for the earring section. Harry had recently changed the black stud he wore for a simple silver hoop. Charlie wanted to see if there was anything that just called out to him for Harry.

Looking over the selection of single earrings they had, his eyes were drawn to an earring that was different. It was a silver hoop, but it had a gold snake coiled around it. The eyes on the snake were sapphires. He motioned to the jeweler.

"How much for the hoop with the snake?"

"Ah, you have good taste. The cost for this earring is 2 galleons."

Charlie couldn't believe his luck. The earring was perfect. "I'll take it, please."

The jeweler took his money and wrapped the earring in a small box. Charlie took it and left the store. He was done shopping and was pleased with what he had found for Harry. He just hoped he would like it.

~OOooOO~

Everyone was back at the Burrow for Christmas. Even Fred and George were staying overnight on Christmas Eve. Hermione would apparate from her parent's house the next day. She didn't get to see them often. They had found that they liked Australia and had decided to stay there, after Hermione had found them and restored their memories. Fortunately, she was really good at long distance apparating.

The room assignments were slightly different this time, than they had been over the summer. Since the twins were there, Harry had to bunk with Ron again. It was hard, with two fully grown men in the same small room, so Harry spent a lot of his time in the living room or outdoors. The Burrow's garden had been charmed with a seasonal warming spell, so there was no snow and Harry could walk around without a coat.

He was nervous again. He really hoped that Charlie liked his gift. He had charmed a card for Ron and Hermione to tell them that his gift to them would have to wait until they got married. He would pay for their honeymoon. He knew that the two of them wouldn't wait very long after graduating before getting married. And he knew that Hermione, ever the realist, would make Ron accept the gift.

He had bought Ginny a set of books: The Intensive Chaser and The Intensive Seeker. The second book had given him a lot of good tips and tricks to try. He hoped she would enjoy them. He was giving Bill a book about new advances in curse breaking, written and signed by his former boss at Gringotts. Molly and Arthur were getting an all expense paid vacation to wherever they wanted to go. Fred and George were easy to buy for. He had set up an account for them with Prandy's Powerful Potions and Supply Company and had made a deposit for them on the account.

He only had to get through today before he could see if Charlie would like his chain and pendant. He hoped that he wouldn't give too much away with the gift. He had never bought jewelry for anyone before.

He heard someone come out of the house and turned. Charlie had seen him and was walking toward him. He waited for Charlie to reach him.

"Too many people, Harry?"

"Yeah. I'm not much one for crowds. At least tomorrow morning everyone will be sitting down."

Charlie laughed. "I know. It actually used to be worse. The twins were always setting off some prank so that we were kind of scared to sit much. You never knew when or where one of those things would go off."

Harry chuckled and started walking toward the side of the house. He wanted to see if Charlie would follow him. He did. Harry hadn't bothered with the makeup or clothes today. He just wanted to feel like he could relax.

Charlie had been surprised when he had seen the denims and hooded sweatshirt on Harry this morning. He wasn't sure if he was going to keep up the distracting new look during the holidays. He had styled his hair, but that had been all. He like the way Harry looked, either way. As he followed Harry around the house, he kept the conversation going, but he was growing more and more nervous. He didn't know why.

Harry stopped and leaned against the side of the house. There weren't any windows on this side, so no one could see them. He was going to see if he could get Charlie to snog him. They kept talking about school, Harry's snake and any manner of other things. Harry suddenly realized that Charlie was nervous. He wouldn't try anything; it was going to be up to Harry.

They weren't that far apart, so it only took one step for Harry to come up flush against Charlie. Charlie would have moved back but Harry's hands on his shoulders stopped him. He felt Harry's lips against his and he froze. That lasted for all of one heartbeat. His arms came up and settled themselves on Harry's hips as he groaned and pressed his lips harder against Harry's. The next few moments found them wrestling for supremacy through the kiss. Harry won.

Using his muscles and small stature to his advantage, he spun Charlie around so that his back was against the side of the house. Harry ran his tongue over Charlie's lower lip, asking for entrance. Charlie's lips parted and Harry's tongue slid in. Charlie's arms moved from Harry's hips to rest on his arse. A little bit of pressure and Harry was leaning in to him. He felt Harry stiffen and then force himself, bit by bit, to relax into the kiss. Harry's hands moved. One slid down Charlie's side to rest on his hip and the other moved up, to tangle in his hair.

Merlin knows how long they would have stayed there, in the shadow of the house, snogging, if Molly hadn't come out on the walk to call them for supper. Harry reluctantly ended the kiss and looked into Charlie's eyes. The stunned desire in them was gratifying to see. Harry leaned in for another quick snog and then pulled himself out of Charlie's arms.

"We'd better go in, before your mum sends out reinforcements."

Charlie tried to get his brain and body to function. He nodded and peeled himself off of the side of the house. Harry didn't seem to be affected by the kiss until Charlie looked into his eyes. The pupils were so dilated with desire, that there was only a thin band of green around them. Charlie almost ignored his mother's call. He wanted Harry. Wanted to snog him breathless, wanted to feel Harry underneath him, around him, inside him.

Harry grabbed his hand and slowly started walking to the door. "We need to talk, Harry. I need to know where this is going, where you want it to go."

Harry looked at him. "How about where _**you**_ want it to go? I'd like for you to be an active participant in this, y'know." Harry smiled, relieving a little of the tension.

By mutual consent, Harry let go of Charlie's hand as they reached the walk. Charlie followed Harry into the house. Bill's eyes found his and he grinned. Charlie had forgotten that they both would have that 'freshly snogged' look to them, and his hair was probably standing on end from Harry's fingers. He had to hand it to Harry though, he pulled it off with complete ease. Charlie wondered how many times he had done this before. The wave of jealousy hit him so hard that he sat in the first available chair at the table, placing himself between Mum and Harry.

The conversation flowed around him as he tried to deal with the surprising emotion. He was further gone on Harry than he'd thought.

Harry's nerves were on edge. It took everything in him to sit and act like everything was normal when his entire world had just stood on end. Charlie was quiet, but he looked alright. He didn't look as if this was phasing him one bit. _Maybe he does this frequently,_ Harry thought darkly. He didn't want to know if he did.

After the meal, Ginny and Ron cleaned up and everyone else went off to the living room. Harry sat on the couch, one leg curled underneath him, the other stretched out in front. Charlie joined him on the couch, sitting close enough to touch. His legs were stretched out in front of him and his hands were folded on his abdomen. Harry wanted to scoot over and snuggle with him, but wasn't sure if that would be the right thing to do, with all the family watching them.

Charlie very slowly moved his leg so that it rubbed up against the leg Harry had stretched out in front of him. Harry's eyes shot to his and he smiled. Harry had slipped off his trainers, so he let his stockinged toes find their way underneath the leg of Charlie's denims to tease his skin. Charlie's eyes widened and then closed, his head dropping back on the couch. Pretending to relax, he slouched in his corner of the sofa and moved his legs closer to Harry.

Harry almost gasped. The action pushed his toes further up Charlie's leg and just the sensation of that strong leg beneath his was doing all sorts of things with his ability to think. Charlie looked at him and Harry felt like he was drowning in a dark blue pool.

Harry, trying hard to breathe, sat up and put on his trainers. Molly looked at him, over her knitting. "Going for a walk, Dear?"

"Yes, Molly. I-I just want to get some air." He glanced at Charlie. He barely nodded, letting Harry know that he would follow.

Harry quickly made his way out the front door. He paused for a moment and then headed for the shed. He needed a moment, some space, to breathe. Just touching Charlie had affected him almost as much as the snogging earlier. He needed to think. He didn't want this going wonky on him, just because he couldn't control his hormones.

Charlie made him feel things that no one ever had before. He made Harry want to hold on to him and hide away from the rest of the world. The feelings were new and almost frightening. He wasn't going to change his mind about this, though. He still wanted Charlie, wanted him with a passion that he wasn't going to deny.


	9. Chapter 9

~OOooOO~

Charlie followed Harry out of the house, not noticing the look that passed between Molly, Arthur and Bill. He reached the garden and looked around. He couldn't see Harry. Acting on instinct, letting his senses lead him, he went around to the back of the shed.

Harry stood, head back and eyes closed, leaning against the shed. Charlie could tell he was deep in thought. A noticeable shudder passed over his frame and he sighed. Charlie leaned against the shed, letting his body fall against it, so that Harry knew he was there.

Harry felt the shed shake a bit and looked over. Charlie was leaning one shoulder against the side of the shed, looking at him. Harry straightened and walked toward him. Placing one palm on Charlie's cheek, Harry leaned in to press his lips to Charlie's.

Charlie returned the kiss, but didn't make any attempt to further it. He was waiting for Harry. Harry drew back and looked Charlie in the eye.

"Do you want this as much as I do? Because, I warn you, I want this quite a bit. I want to be with you. I want to take you off the market. Once I do, that'll be it. There won't be anyone else for me, ever." He paused. "There are some things about me that you need to know, but I'll get to those soon enough. I need to know this first."

Charlie held Harry's intense green gaze. "I want this, too. I've never felt like this about anyone before. I don't want to mess this up. When I thought that I would have to compete with Bill for you, I almost gave up."

"Why?"

"It's _Bill_. He's tall, dark and handsome, even with the scars. I can't compete with that. He's got this whole mysterious personality going for him. I'm just a blunt, headstrong dragon handler."

"Maybe, but you're _**my**_ dragon handler. And, just so you know, Bill has always come second. You have always been my first choice. Always. Remember that."

"Harry, I'm not mysterious, I'm not exciting. I'm just me. I can't give you adventure and excitement, if you want that. I'm going to continue to teach at Hogwarts, no adventure there.

Harry leaned forward and brushed Charlie's lips lightly with his own. "Char? Don't you think I've had enough adventure and excitement to last anyone _several_ lifetimes? I'm not looking for that. I don't _want_ that. I want a steady, dependable love. Companionship that will last forever. Someone to protect me. Someone to give me children. I know that _you _can do all of that. Bill can't. He's only teaching this year and then going back to Gringotts, right?" Charlie nodded. "Well, then, I need stability. Wondering if my husband is going to die while disabling a curse is not stability."

Charlie began to believe that Harry actually wanted him. Harry could see the change come over his face as the realization hit him. The smile that Charlie sent his way was blinding. He gently cupped Harry's face and pulled him in for a thorough snog. Harry stiffened, but then melted into Charlie's arms and deepened the kiss. For several minutes, all that could be heard was their quickened breathing. Charlie slowly ended the kiss and pressed his forehead to Harry's.

"I think you said that there were some things I need to know?"

Harry took Charlie's hand and led him to the bench that Ron and Hermione had sat on all those months ago. Harry took a couple of calming breaths before beginning.

"Let me talk first, okay? I'll never get it all out, if you stop me." Charlie nodded. "Alright. You know the whole thing about the Dursleys?" Charlie shook his head no. "Well, they are not exactly the nicest of people. They hate me, they hate magic. It doesn't matter that Dudley's actually started showing some signs of latent abilities. They just hate _me_. The earliest memory I have is of Uncle Vernon calling me 'Freak' and throwing me, literally, into my cupboard. I think I must have been about 4 years old. I'm sure that the abuse was there before that, but I don't remember it. It got steadily worse the older I got. By the time I was 11, I'd had broken arms, two broken legs, cuts, scrapes, gouges, broken ribs and other 'unexplainable' injuries. They took me to different doctors and hospitals to cover it up. They were getting paid, quite nicely, from a special account, to 'take care of me'.

"After I started Hogwarts, it got really bad. They found daily reasons to let Dudley have a go at me. If I didn't do something right, they would refuse to feed me. Sometimes I would get, maybe, 3 or 4 meals a week." He felt Charlie stiffen. "I need to tell you, please?" Charlie drew breath and then nodded again. "When Ron, Fred and George came to get me, right before 2nd year, I hadn't eaten in almost a week. They gave me water, but no food. The next year, before 3rd year, they started with carving words into my skin if I did something wrong, or didn't finish what they told me to do." Harry turned his back to Charlie and pulled off his sweatshirt.

"Lumos." Charlie used the light from his wand to see the scarring on Harry's back. He could make out the words 'Freak', 'Queer' and 'Slut'. There were other words, but his hand was shaking so badly that the light wavered and he couldn't see them. He wanted to cry for Harry, but knew that he wouldn't appreciate it. He drew a shaky breath and noxed the light.

Harry pulled his sweatshirt back on and turned to face him. He smiled, a little sadly, when he saw the tears in Charlie's eyes.

"Don't cry, not yet anyway. It gets worse. After 4th year, they allowed Dudley to try to rape me." Charlie couldn't control the tears anymore. Harry reached over and wiped them away as they fell. "He didn't succeed. I told him that he would get infected with my magic if he did. He never tried again." Harry was silent for a moment, then continued. "After that, they stopped holding back. Dumbledore would take me to the infirmary the first night back at Hogwarts, just so that Madame Pomfrey could heal me before anyone got a really good look at me. Whoever picked me up from the Dursley's would put a glamour on me, so that no one could see the damage. Dumbledore knew that he couldn't remove me from the Dursley's, otherwise I would have been dead within a week. Voldemort would have found me. Not that Dumbledore didn't try to find another way, he did.

"Sirius and Remus don't know about this. Ron and Hermione know some of it, but not all. No one else knows. I want _**you**_ to know, because you're going to have to deal with the fact that it's hard for me to allow anyone to touch me. I can touch others, because I initiate the contact. Draco Malfoy found out, the hard way, never to sneak up on me. I think he was in the infirmary for a week after that. I'm going to need your help. I want to get over this, but it will take patience. I know you won't hurt me, but I have a hard time controlling my reactions. I'm counting on you to give me some better memories, to get rid of the bad ones from the Dursley's."

"Why didn't you tell Sirius and Remus?"

"I don't want them going to Azkaban for me. You know Sirius. He'd go and torture them."

"May I hug you?"

Harry nodded. He felt Charlie's arms tentatively reach around him. He couldn't control it. He stiffened, but forced himself to relax. He knew Charlie had felt it and felt bad that he couldn't control his reaction. Charlie didn't say anything, just held him. Harry felt the emotions and the need to comfort pour through Charlie. Harry lifted his own arms and wound them around Charlie's neck. He felt his own control snap and he started to cry. Charlie just held him, gently rubbing circles on his back and sides.

Harry let all the tears he'd been holding back pour out of him. He cried for the child with no parents, he cried for the scared boy he'd been. He cried, because now, Charlie was going to have to try to fix what the Dursleys had broken. After a little while, the tears stopped and he realized that he was sitting in Charlie's lap. He didn't know when that had happened, but it felt right. He felt like he was home, when he was in Charlie's arms.

Harry lifted his head and began to rain kisses all over Charlie's face. Charlie chuckled and began to do the same. He lifted Harry off of his lap and, turning Harry away from him, lifted the sweatshirt. He began to kiss the horrific scars on the back of the man he loved. Harry didn't stop him.

Harry knew his emotional healing had started when he showed Charlie the scars. Ron didn't even know about them. He made a point of never being completely undressed when he wasn't alone. He didn't want anyone's pity. He felt some of his pain drain away with each touch of Charlie's lips to the words carved into his skin.

"I promise that I will make better memories for you. I know it will take time. I have a lot of patience. I am a dragon handler, after all. It takes a hell of a lot for a dragon to trust a human. I won't push anything on you. You just have to let me know what you can handle, alright?"

Harry smiled and gave him a quick kiss. "Now, we'd better get back inside before someone comes looking for us."

Charlie stood and held out his hand. Hand in hand they walked into the house.

~OOooOO~

Everyone seemed to realize that Harry and Charlie's relationship had changed. The next morning, when they went downstairs to open presents, the only seat available was the loveseat, which was barely large enough for them. Smiling to himself, Harry allowed Charlie to pull him down to sit next to him.

Everyone exclaimed over their gifts from Harry. He held off giving Ron and Hermione their gift. He couldn't give it to them before Ron asked her to marry him. Ron looked at Harry and nodded slightly.

He slid off of the chair he was sitting in to kneel in front of Hermione. "I've wanted to ask you this for a while now. But the time never seemed right. Now, the time is right." He opened the box so that she could see the ring inside. "Hermione Granger, I have loved you for years. I want nothing more than to kiss you goodnight, every night, and wake you up with a kiss every morning. Will you marry me?"

Ron held his breath, waiting. The shock on Hermione's face gave way to joy. "Yes!" She whispered. "Yes! YES!" Ron slid the ring on her finger. It was a perfect fit, just as he'd known it would be. She launched herself into his arms, covering his face with kisses, before allowing his lips to capture hers in a chaste, but very loving kiss.

Everyone applauded and gave them well-wishes. Harry knew that he could give them his gift now. He stood and walked over to them. He handed Hermione the envelope addressed to her and Ron. They looked at each other and then she opened it. To say they were shocked was an understatement. Ron started going on about not being able to accept it, but Hermione placed a finger on his lips to silence him.

"You know I'm going to accept it for us. Let him help. He loves to help. Let him do this for us."

Ron sighed and looked at Harry. "Thanks, mate. That's why you gave it to both of us, right? 'Cause you knew I wouldn't take it."

Harry nodded. "I want you two to be able to go wherever you want. Plan it well." He smiled and gave each of them a quick kiss on the cheek before straightening. He looked over at Molly and Arthur. "You haven't opened yours yet."

Molly looked at Arthur and opened the card. As they read it, tears formed in Molly's eyes. She looked at Harry. "I know better than to try and say no. Thank you, Harry." Harry smiled at them.

Next, he looked at the twins. They looked at the card and back at him. "Is this..."

"Going to..."

"Explode?"

Everyone laughed. "No, but you'd better open it. You don't know what it _will_ do."

Gingerly the twins opened the card. When they saw what Harry had done for them, they jumped up and made to hug him. He put up his hands to hold them off. "Uh-uh...back off...I don't know what you've got hidden on you." Fred and George snorted, but didn't press it. They knew Harry didn't like being touched, even if they didn't know why.

He looked at Charlie next. He'd already opened Charlie's gift to him, and had immediately changed his earring. He watched in trepidation as Charlie opened the box. His jaw dropped as he saw the miniature dragon staring out at him. He lifted the chain out of the box and held it out to Harry, so that he could put it on him. Everyone exchanged looks as Harry complied. This only confirmed the existence of an unannounced relationship between the two.

Harry looked at Charlie and raised an eyebrow. Charlie nodded. "Well, we can see that you all are curious as hell, so we might as well put you out of your misery. Yes, Charlie and I are now dating. No," he said looking at Molly, "I don't know when the wedding will be."

They all got a good chuckle out of Harry's stealing the wind from Molly's sails. She would love nothing better than to plan a wedding, as she had not been allowed to help plan Bill's.

"What about school? What will Minerva say?" Arthur was happy, but didn't want the boys to encounter problems with the Headmistress.

"I'll talk to her when we get back. Harry's legally an adult now, so he really doesn't need anyone's permission to date someone older than him. The fact that I'm a teacher shouldn't alter that."

Molly wasn't convinced, but she let it go. They would find a way.


	10. Chapter 10

~OOooOO~

Severus Snape was a very lonely man, but he never let on. He didn't want pity. He had chosen to be this way. After Lily Evans had married James Potter, he had sealed his heart against any kind of 'soft' emotions. Loving someone only left you open to hurt.

He had hated Harry Potter from the moment he had been born. The child couldn't help who he was, but that didn't matter to Severus. He hated him for who his father had been. James Potter had tormented Severus with a passion little seen in the vain, cocky young man. The only other thing he had been passionate about was quidditch.

When Harry had first started at Hogwarts, Severus had used that memory against Harry, even though Harry knew nothing about it. When strange things began to happen to Harry, Severus almost let them. Then he remembered that, not only was Harry the son of James Potter, he was the son of Lily Evans. His first love. He began to protect Harry, after a fashion. The boy seemed to walk straight into trouble. Every time Severus had turned around, Harry had been up to some new mischief.

He had wondered, now that Voldemort had been destroyed, what Harry would do to keep up his track record. He had his answer the first night. The boy had completely remade himself. The entire school knew that Harry was gay. He'd never made any effort to hide it.

_**FLASHBACK**_

_Severus had been sitting at the head table grumbling about the prevalence of Gryffindor instructors this year. He heard several comments and questions about a particular student that no one seemed able to recognize. Along with all the other teachers, he looked into the sea of faces and his gaze was riveted to the student standing at the end of the Gryffindor table. The young man, it was obviously a man, was dressed entirely in black and silver. From his head, complete with a black and silver earring, down to his feet, shod in calf-high black leather boots with silver buckles. He seemed to feel the gazes being directed at him and turned so that he faced the head table._

_Potter. He held his head high and smiled slightly at the reactions of the instructors. Severus was in shock. He had been confused at first, but then had seen the emerald green eyes. He had completely changed the way he looked and, by virtue of that, the way he held himself. Gone was the shy teen who slumped to hide himself. In his place stood a man who was confident and, dare he say, gorgeous._

_Severus had been instantly aware of the teen as a potential bed-mate. Just because he was lonely didn't mean that he was a monk. The lust that coursed through his body was impossible to control. He was fortunate that he was sitting down, otherwise the rest of the instructors might have seen how Potter affected him. _

That had begun the slow torture. Every time he had seen Potter, he had felt the same way. It was beginning to frighten him. He had only ever felt this way about one other student. And it was just his horrible luck that that first student was now an instructor.

William Weasley was a beautiful man. Even the scars he had received from Fenrir Greyback did little to harm his looks. They only added to the mystique that was William Weasley.

Severus had been tempted by William when he had been a student at Hogwarts. William had made his attraction to Severus known and had tried, on several occasions to fulfill his desires. Severus had never let it happen. First because he had been a student and, second, because Severus knew that it wouldn't end with taking him as a lover. William would have pursued him, eventually catching him, and enticed him into a marriage bond. Severus had vowed never to wed. Not after watching his Lily marry James Potter.

Now, William Weasley was back, and seemed as enchanted with Potter as both Severus and Charles Weasley were. Charles, or Charlie as he was known, was obviously head over heels in love with the brat. Severus recognized the signs. They hadn't changed since Lily.

Not long after that first night, though, it became noticeable that William had changed his mind. He seemed set on pursuing Severus again.

_**FLASHBACK**_

_He was being followed. He could feel it. And he knew who it was. Stopping in his tracks, he slid behind a column. He watched as William swiftly walked down the corridor. He stopped, confused, as he tried to figure out where Severus had gone. Severus couldn't see the small grin on Bill's face as he realized that he was being watched. He spun around and confronted Severus, hiding behind that column._

_"Hiding Severus? I wouldn't have thought it. Do I scare you?"_

_Severus emerged, holding his dignity about him like a tattered cloak. "Why would you frighten me? You didn't frighten me twelve years ago, you don't now."_

_"Counting the years? I must have made more of an impression than I thought."_

_"Not at all, William. I simply remember your misguided efforts and hope that you are not going to continue them. We have an image to uphold as instructors. I would hope that you would do nothing to tarnish that image."_

_"Severus, I'm not suggesting that we have sex in the Great Hall. I still desire you. There's nothing wrong with that. If my being a student held you back before, and I know it did, there should be nothing standing in the way now."_

_"William. This cannot happen. It doesn't matter what I feel or what you feel. Whether I desire you or not, whether you desire me or not; it cannot happen."_

_"Why?" _

_The one question that Severus couldn't answer. He didn't want William to know that, yes, Severus still desired him. He was not about to get involved with William Weasley._

_"It just cannot happen. I will not let it happen."_

_Severus turned and continued his flight down the corridor._

That had been within the first month of the term. It was now Christmas. He still hadn't allowed William to get too close. That didn't mean that they hadn't kissed, or snogged, as the students called it. They had, many times. Sometimes, almost being caught.

Severus wasn't willing to let it go further...yet. He wanted William. He couldn't deny it. Why bother trying. He hadn't realized, at first, that this would only make William more determined to break through his shields.

Severus could feel those shields weakening. He knew that, when classes resumed, William would try harder to make Severus give in. He would eventually succeed. Severus was now reduced to planning when and where the surrender would take place.

"Oh how the mighty have fallen." Severus whispered.


	11. Chapter 11

~OOooOO~

The first day back, after the holidays, was stressful for Harry. Charlie had pulled Minerva McGonagall aside to speak with her. She hadn't been pleased.

"What do you mean, you and Harry are now dating? Mr. Weasley, he is a student. He may be of age, but he is still a student. There are rules that must be followed."

"Tell me what the rules are."

"We must have a guardian's approval. You will have to speak with Sirius Black and ask for his permission to openly date Harry while he is a student here. If, and I do stress _**IF**_, you receive permission, then there will be no issue with it. I expect you to contact Sirius and get him to accompany you to my office so that we may discuss this. If necessary, we will call Harry in as well."

When Charlie had told Harry about this, Harry had been livid.

"I'm of age! Why do I need Sirius' permission to date who I want?" Harry had stormed out of the classroom that Charlie had pulled him into. Charlie followed.

Harry had found Sirius and Remus in Remus' classroom. "Siri, Charlie and I need to talk to you."

"What's up, Bambi?"

Charlie took up the explanation. Sirius wasn't surprised. He had expected this. "Of course I give my permission. C'mon, let's go find Minerva."

They had had to wait until after the evening meal before they could speak with the headmistress. Sirius had pulled Minerva to the side, after the students had left the Great Hall. Harry stood, hand in hand with Charlie, while Remus stood to one side, hiding a smile behind his hand. Harry was stubborn as hell. It never paid to get in his way.

"Minerva? Speak with you a minute, please?" She nodded and moved away from the other instructors.

"Yes, Sirius?" She knew what was coming, but she had to follow protocol.

"I, Sirius Black, hereby give my permission for my godson, Harry James Potter, to openly date Charles Adam Weasley. I realize that my godson is still a student, and that this may cause some difficulties. If any present themselves, please contact me, and I will deal with them."

Minerva smiled. "Thank you, Sirius. Harry, I know you are annoyed. I'm sorry. Things must be done a certain way, or they will never be approved. I know you are over the age of consent, but rules must be followed. You both have my permission and my congratulations."

Harry thought that there would be more of a fight. "That's it? It's okay now?"

"Yes, Harry. It's alright now. However, this had better not affect your grades. You take your N.E.W.T.s this year."

The brilliant smile Harry gave her was stunning. It made her realize exactly how happy Charlie Weasley made Harry. "Thank you, Professor McGonagall. It won't affect my grades, except for the possibility of them getting better. Charlie won't let me skive off studying."

"No, I definitely won't."

They watched as Minerva walked to the head table and informed the teachers of Charlie and Harry's relationship and that it had Sirius' and her backing. Harry and Charlie received smiles and congratulations from the instructors. They knew that a stable relationship was something that would be important to Harry. He had been through enough in his life, he didn't need to have something else denied him, because of his age or who he was.

Harry happily hugged Charlie and leaned against him as Charlie put his arm around Harry's waist. They had been working on Harry's fear of being touched. It was going slowly, but at least Charlie could put his arms around Harry now, without Harry tensing up too much.

Charlie and Harry parted ways for the night at the front doors. Charlie to head out to his hut and Harry to go up to the Gryffindor tower. Charlie hadn't made it out of the doors before Bill stopped him and began talking. Charlie watched as Harry walked away. He saw someone step out of the shadows of a doorway to follow Harry. Draco Malfoy.

Bill saw where Charlie was looking and motioned with his head to follow them. They quietly followed the Slytherin, watching as he followed Harry. Malfoy reached out and put a hand on Harry's shoulder to stop him. Harry spun around, throwing off Draco's hand.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry was nervous. This was the first time the Slytherin had made contact with him since the whole episode in the Great Hall. There was something about the other man that made Harry's skin crawl.

"Just wondering what's going on with you and Weasley. You know you have to get permission to date him."

"I already have it, Malfoy. Sirius gave Professor McGonagall his permission for Charlie and I to openly date. If you have a problem with it, you'll have to take it up with Sirius."

"No, I don't have a problem with it." He had been slowly backing Harry toward the wall and now placed his hands on the wall, on either side of Harry's head. Harry stiffened. "I just want to see what Weasley's getting that I'm not." With that, Draco's head ducked down, and he ground his lips against Harry's, pressing him forcibly against the wall. Harry fought to get away from him, but, since he was taller, Draco had the advantage over Harry.

Bill and Charlie started to run toward Harry when Draco suddenly went flying across the hall and landed in an unconscious heap on the floor. Harry slid to the floor and curled himself into a ball, rocking back and forth slightly. Leaving Malfoy where he lay on the floor, the brothers rushed to Harry. Charlie barely kept himself and Bill from touching Harry.

"Don't! He doesn't like being touched. Give me a minute, alright? Go see if that git is still breathing."

Charlie sat on the floor next to Harry, softly calling his name. "Harry, love? It's Charlie. Come on, Love, look at me. I'm not going to touch you until you tell me I can, alright?"

Harry raised frightened green eyes to Charlie. Charlie immediately found himself with a lap full of sobbing Harry Potter. "Harry? I'm going to put my arms around you, okay?"

Harry nodded and melted into the contact. Charlie felt safe. Harry didn't know that he had thrown Malfoy across the hall, didn't know that he was still unconscious, nor did he care. He concentrated on the comforting feelings from Charlie, taking them into himself and strengthening him.

Charlie heard running footsteps approaching them. He looked up and found Severus and Minerva standing over them, worried expressions on their faces.

"William, what happened?" Severus wanted to know why his godson was lying on the floor, apparently unconscious.

"Draco backed Harry up against the wall and tried to force himself on Harry. I don't know what happened, but Harry threw him across the hall. He didn't even touch Malfoy."

"Did you both see what happened?" Minerva was disturbed by this development. She wasn't entirely certain how to deal with something of this nature.

Both Charlie and Bill nodded. "Minerva, there are some things that you may not know about Harry's past. If he agrees, I will tell you what he's told me, alright? It should explain why Harry's shaking and crying and why Draco's unconscious." They all saw Harry nod, never lifting his face, never leaving the comfort of Charlie's arms. Bill had feeling of foreboding. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear this.

Charlie began to tell them of Harry's abuse, the attempted rape by his cousin and the healings once he reached Hogwarts. Severus was disgusted. He couldn't believe that anyone could treat a child that way, but as he looked closer at Harry, he noticed that his shirt and jacket had been pulled loose in the back. He could barely make out the word, but he saw the scar that said 'Freak'. He brought it to Minerva's attention, lending credence to what Charlie had told them. Minerva hadn't wanted to believe it, but, with the proof in front of her eyes, she had to.

"Mr. Weasley, please step back from Mr. Malfoy. Severus, please take him to the infirmary." Bill stood and stepped away. "Charlie, if Harry will let you, please carry him to the infirmary. I would like Madame Pomfrey to take a look at him, to make certain that he was not harmed by Mr. Malfoy's attack."

Charlie looked down at his boyfriend's head. "Is that alright, Harry? Can I carry you? Or would you rather walk?"

Harry thought for a moment. "Not sure I can walk, right now. Shaking too badly. Can you carry me?"

Charlie stood, then crouched down and picked up Harry. He strode off to the infirmary, Bill and Minerva following. Severus had already left, with Malfoy floating beside him.

~OOooOO~

Severus was extremely angry with his godson. He didn't want to believe he could do something like this. But, Minerva had requested to see the memory from Bill, Charlie and Harry. He knew it was true.

Draco had finally woken up and claimed a completely different story. Severus knew that he was facing expulsion for attacking a fellow student. He had held Draco down and used his Legilimency skills to find out the truth. The Weasleys' and Harry's memories had been correct. Narcissa had been contacted and was in the headmistress' office.

Word had gotten out about the attack and Draco was not safe at Hogwarts. Several of the students had actually tried to gain access to the infirmary, intent on harming Draco. Surprisingly, none of them had been Gryffindor students. They had been a combination of Slytherins, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. Severus knew that Draco had never really been popular, but had held sway only due to his father's power with the Dark Lord. Now that Lucius Malfoy was dead, Draco's position had crumbled.

Sirius and Remus had handled the attack fairly well, leaving it up to Minerva as to what would happen. They spent all their free time with Harry. Sirius escorted Harry to and from classes and stayed with him, sitting in the back of the room. If Sirius wasn't with Harry, then either Charlie or Remus was. The only people Harry allowed near him, in addition to Charlie, Sirius and Remus, were Ron, Hermione and Bill. Everyone respected Harry's wishes, knowing that the attack had made him very skittish.

Severus had been sickened by the extent of the scarring on Harry's back. The muggles he had lived with had certainly abused him. Once Sirius had gotten a look at the scars, Minerva had had to stupefy him, to keep him from going to the muggle's house and harming them. Remus had talked him down, stating that Harry wouldn't be able to take it if he were put back into Azkaban. Sirius had calmed after that, knowing that Remus was right.

Harry had spoken to Minerva and Sirius. He didn't want anyone to suffer because of him. If Draco would be safe, Harry said that he should stay and finish his schooling. Narcissa Malfoy had vetoed this, stating that she had lost her husband, she wouldn't lose her son, too. She pulled him out of Hogwarts and enrolled him in Durmstrang. By all accounts, they were worse there than at Hogwarts.

~OOooOO~

Charlie had not touched Harry much, since that first day. He was afraid of scaring him. He wanted to, badly, but until Harry told him that it was alright, he held back.

Harry noticed and began to wonder if Charlie had changed his mind. He decided to find out.

"Char?"

"Mmhmm?" He looked up from the papers he was grading.

"Why don't you touch me anymore? Is it because of Malfoy? I didn't want that you know."

Charlie's eyes widened. "No! I just thought that I would give you some room. From what I've read, your reactions could get worse. I don't want to traumatize you."

"Oh. Can you come here?" Harry was sitting on the huge bed that had been Hagrid's. He patted the spot next to him and Charlie sat. Harry looked him in the eye. "Touch me."

Charlie lifted one hand and placed it on Harry's cheek. Harry leaned into the caress and almost purred. "Feels good. Keep going." Harry's eyes had a mischievous light in them. He ran a finger across Charlie's lower lip before leaning in and following it with his tongue. Charlie groaned and moved his hands around to Harry's back. Gently shifting his body, Charlie lay down on the bed and pulled Harry on top of him.

"Harry, have you ever gone beyond just snogging?" Harry shook his head, blushing. "Alright then. I want you to explore, and I'm going to explore you. Just warn me if I do something you don't like."

Harry nodded and bent his head to start pressing small kisses on Charlie's face, working his way down, from his forehead, until he reached Charlie's lips. The light kiss rapidly deepened into a breathless merging of lips, tongues and moans.

Charlie knew he had to end this soon. He wasn't going to be able to resist much longer and he wanted Harry's first time to be special, not just an extension of a grope session. Harry had different ideas.

He wanted Charlie. He wanted him now, tonight. He seemed to have no fear of any of Charlie's touches. The thought crossed his mind briefly, before being drowned in a flood of passion and need. He began to slowly move his hips against Charlie's. He could feel Charlie's erection through his trousers and his own body answered with a rush of blood to his groin. As the sensations increased, Harry began to move his lips down Charlie's neck, trailing kisses down to his chest.

Charlie knew he was fighting a losing battle. He wanted Harry, now, tonight. Grasping Harry's hips, Charlie flipped them over and held himself above Harry on his heavily muscled arms. "If you don't want this, you had better tell me now. I'm not going to be able to stop if we go any further."

"I don't want you to stop. I'm not frightened. For some reason, the fear is gone." Harry reached up to pull Charlie down to him. "Make me yours."


	12. Chapter 12

_**WARNING!**_

_**THIS ENTIRE CHAPTER CONSISTS OF A SLASH (MALE ON MALE) SEX SCENE. IF THIS BOTHERS YOU, OR YOU DON'T WANT TO READ IT, PLEASE WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**_

~OOooOO~

"Make me yours."

Charlie heard Harry's words and knew that he was lost. There was no way to resist the pull of those words or the desire in Harry's eyes. He felt Harry's hands travel from his neck, down his back to cup the cheeks of his arse. He moaned and pressed his hips against Harry's.

Charlie sat back on his knees and pulled Harry with him. Reaching down, he grabbed the hem of Harry's sweatshirt and lifted it. Harry raised his arms, so that Charlie could remove the sweatshirt. Their fingers tangled as they both reached for the buttons on Charlie's shirt. Harry's nimble fingers quickly unbuttoned them and he pushed Charlie's shirt off of his shoulders and down his arms.

As Charlie pulled the shirt the rest of the way off, Harry ran his hands over what seemed like acres of freckled skin. He came up to his knees and, starting at the pulse point in Charlie's neck, he worked his lips and fingers down that amazing expanse. He felt Charlie's breath catch in his chest as he ran his tongue over one hard nipple. Harry's fingers reached the other nipple and teased it, pinching and gently rolling it between thumb and forefinger.

Charlie started some teasing of his own. He gently ran his fingers over Harry's back, stopping at the waistband of his denims. One finger on each hand slipped under the waist and began to move around in small circles, just above his toned arse. Harry moaned, forgetting what he was doing to Charlie. Pressing his advantage, Charlie ducked his head and captured Harry's mouth.

Harry quickly found himself laying back on the pillows as Charlie's hands skimmed all over his chest and abdomen. The questing fingers paused at the buttons of Harry's trousers.

"If you want this to stop, now's the time to tell me. I'm not going to be able to, once I get your trousers off. I want you too badly and I'm trying to go as slowly as I can."

Harry reached up and pulled Charlie's lips to his own. Just before they touched, Harry whispered, "Make me yours. Don't hold back. I want you so much."

Charlie's fingers made quick work of the buttons on Harry's denims. He hooked his fingers into the waistbands of both trousers and shorts. He drew them off, removing Harry's trainers and socks at the same time. He kicked off his own boots and leather trousers.

Running his hands up Harry's muscular legs, he tried to control his breathing. He almost couldn't believe that Harry was allowing this. Something must have happened. when Draco attacked him, something that allowed his mind to accept touch. Charlie was just happy that he wasn't frightening him.

Harry felt Charlie's nude body slide up his, so that he could claim his lips. For a few minutes, all they did was snog each other breathless. Charlie began to work his way down Harry's body with his lips, leaving love bites every so often on his neck and chest. Harry's breathing became faster and he couldn't seem to keep his hands still. He ran them over Charlie's shoulders and up into his hair. He felt Charlie's teeth tugging lightly at the hair on his abdomen and another rush of blood headed south.

Charlie knew that he was touching virgin territory. No one had ever touched Harry like this. He was the only one. He would _**be**_ the only one. He nipped lightly at Harry's inner thighs before heading directly to his cock. He ran his tongue quickly up the length before lowering his mouth over it.

Harry's breath stilled. He couldn't breathe. The sensations were phenomenal! He sucked air into his lungs before losing it again as Charlie began to lightly suckle at him. _Gods! Why hasn't anyone told me about how this felt before? This is __**AMAZING!**_

He grabbed a handful of Charlie's hair to stop him. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not going to last long if you keep that up. Not that it wasn't nice, but I want more!"

Charlie chuckled and leaned in for a quick snog. "Okay, have to get something first." Charlie hopped off of the bed and dug around in the drawer of the side table for a minute. He crawled back into the bed holding a tube that Harry recognized. Setting the tube aside for a moment, Charlie began to snog Harry in earnest, letting free all the passion that he had been restraining. Harry felt like he was on a small boat in a stormy sea. The feelings and sensations buffeted him from all sides and crashed over him in a wave of pure desire.

"Now Charlie, now!"

Charlie moved to kneel between Harry's legs, spreading them a little further apart. Squeezing some of the lube onto his fingers, he ran them down Harry's cleft to the small pucker. He gently pressed one finger, keeping the pressure steady until the ring of muscles gave way and the finger slid inside. Harry gasped. It wasn't painful, just a little odd. The finger began to slowly move back and forth, until it was moving freely.

Harry was moaning, unable to control his hips as they began to move. He felt the sting as Charlie added another finger. It wasn't too painful, but it was definitely a little interesting to feel...well, full. He began to move his hips again and felt a wave of pleasure crash over him as those fingers brushed against something deep inside him.

"Oh shit oh shit oh shit! What the hell was that?" Harry moaned.

"Your prostate...your new best friend." With that, Charlie brushed his fingers over the bundle of nerves again, making Harry's cock twitch. Charlie leaned down and took Harry's cock in his mouth and bobbed a few times before introducing a third finger.

Harry gasped. That one had hurt! "I'm sorry, Love. I'm trying not to hurt you."

"I know. Just, a little slower, please."

Charlie slowed the thrusting of his fingers and gently began to move them apart, stretching Harry to accept something larger than those fingers. Harry groaned as Charlie brushed his prostate again. The pain had receded, leaving pleasure in its wake.

Charlie removed the fingers and spread lube on himself, spreading it with one hand while gently pumping Harry's cock with the other. He positioned himself at Harry's opening and slowly pushed past the ring of muscles. He saw a single tear streak down the side of Harry's face and he stopped, horrified.

"Oh God, Harry! I didn't mean to make you cry! If it hurts too much, we can stop."

"No! Just give me a minute." Harry took a few deep breaths and willed the pain away. He looked into Charlie's eyes, seeing the worry there. "I'll be fine. I've never...and you're so..."

"Do you want me to stop?"

"No, you can move...please move! I need something, anything, just...please!"

Charlie slowly slid deeper into Harry's channel, trying to keep from hurting the smaller man. Once he was inside fully, he stopped again, to give Harry a chance to adjust. Once Harry had relaxed around him, he began to move. Harry's erection, which had subsided with the pain, began to respond to the pleasure. Charlie moved with slow, shallow thrusts until Harry wrapped his legs around Charlie's waist, forcing him to thrust harder.

Charlie braced himself on his arms and began to piston his hips steadily into Harry's. Harry began to moan, one never ending sound of pure pleasure. Harry's head was moving from side to side as the pleasure washed over him. He had never thought it would feel this good. He hadn't expected as much pain as he'd had, but the pleasure was, by far, making up for that.

Charlie had never experienced anything like being with Harry. After a rough start, Harry had adjusted and was moving his body along with Charlie's. If the sounds Harry was making were anything to go by, the pain had been replaced quickly by pleasure. Charlie was making sure he hit Harry's prostate as much as possible. He knew Harry was coming close to orgasm. His eyes were closed and his moaning was almost non-stop.

"More Charlie! More!"

Charlie brushed that spot once, twice, three more times. That sent Harry directly over the edge. He screamed as he came, splashing his seed over his abdomen and chest. Charlie couldn't take any more and he followed Harry, collapsing on top of him as his orgasm faded.

Charlie rolled to his side, gently moving away from Harry and gathered his shaking boyfriend into his arms. Charlie had never experienced this type of passion from any other lover he'd ever had before. He knew that he would never let Harry go. He would move heaven and earth to stay by Harry's side. The younger man had ensnared him, body, mind and heart.


	13. Chapter 13

~OOooOO~

Harry woke up to a distant pounding. For a moment, he thought it was in his head. He felt sore and couldn't figure out why. He heard a groan and felt the bed he was on dip as someone moved off of it. Memories came flooding back in and he blushed. He and Charlie had slept together. More than that, Charlie had loved him, making sure that Harry had been alright at every point. He watched as Charlie dragged a blanket off of the bed and wrapped it around himself like a toga. He walked to the door and opened it.

"Charlie! We can't find Harry! His bed wasn't slept in last night. We need your help, Hermione and I came here first, hoping that you've seen him." Ron and Hermione didn't hear Charlie as he tried to keep them from entering the hut. As they pushed past him, Hermione finally seemed to notice Charlie's state of undress, just before her eyes shot to the bed and connected with Harry's. She blushed.

"Um, Ron? We can come back another time. Come on!" Hermione tried to get Ron to move but he wasn't budging. He hadn't looked at the bed, so he missed the bright flush that stained Harry's cheeks.

"What're you talking about? We need to find Harry! We haven't told anyone else yet, Charlie. Why are you just standing there? Get dressed and help us find Harry!" Ron heard a choking noise from the bed and raised his eyes. Startled blue met embarrassed green. Ron's mouth dropped open and then snapped closed. "Ah...yeah...we'll come back later."

Grabbing Hermione's arm, he started to drag her out of the hut. She shot an embarrassed look in Harry's direction. "We're really sorry we barged in, Charlie. We'll come back..." Hermione broke off with a small scream as a very large green snake slithered into the hut and over to the bed.

"Kigyo!"

_Master! You have returned! I knew my senses weren't wrong. Welcome back._

_Thank you, Kigyo. It's good to see you again._

Everyone stood motionless as Harry talked to the snake. Each of them had very different reactions to listening to Harry speak Parseltongue. Hermione was fascinated, she had only heard it once or twice. Ron was still a little scared of Harry's ability to speak the dead language. Charlie was aroused. Highly aroused.

_Master and his mate are finally one?_

Harry choked a bit. _Yes, Kigyo. Charlie and I are finally together._

_Good. Master deserves the happiness that I feel._

_Thank you, Kigyo. Will you stay with Charlie or go to my room in the tower?_

_I will stay with you, Master. I will go to your room now. I have the ability to become invisible to human eyes, but not to animals. Your owl will need to meet me, so that he knows I will not harm him, or any other animal in the castle._

_Alright. Could you go to my room now? I will be there later._

_Yes, Master._

The snake slid off of the bed and left the hut, making its way through the snow to the castle. Harry was happy that Kigyo had come back to him.

"Harry? When did you get a snake?" Hermione's voice was a little shaky. The snake was huge and she had been concerned when it had wound itself around Harry.

"Before the holiday. Bill brought him in for the demonstration in DADA."

"And now he's yours? How did that happen?" Ron was curious. Neither of them seemed to notice Charlie and Harry's state of undress anymore.

"He bonded with me. Hey, look. Can I meet you guys later? I'm getting kind of cold here." Harry blushed bright red. They also blushed at being reminded that Charlie was wearing only a blanket. Neither one wanted to think about what Harry was, or rather wasn't, wearing under the duvet.

They stammered out apologies and left quickly. Charlie shut the door and leaned against it. He straightened and stalked over to the bed.

"Again." He loosened the blanket and crawled back into the bed. "Again."

Harry looked at him oddly. "Again, what?"

"Again...please!" Charlie ran his tongue down Harry's throat until it reached his Adam's apple. He nipped and suckled gently, causing Harry to moan.

"No, what do you want me to do?"

"Talk like that again. Parseltongue."

"Oh."

Harry began to have a one-sided conversation with Charlie in Parseltongue. The sibilant whispering was Charlie's undoing. He couldn't seem to control himself when Harry spoke like that. He didn't know what Harry was saying, he could have been reciting potions ingredients for all he cared. The sounds were just so arousing.

Harry was telling Charlie how he felt. I_ love you, you know. I didn't think that I could feel this way about someone. All my life, I've been told that I'm worthless and no good, that I'm a freak. You make me feel wonderful. You make me feel alive in a way that I've never felt before. I love you...I love you._

"Gods Harry! That is just so damn sexy!" Charlie pushed Harry back on the bed as the younger man continued to hiss gently. He could hear a repetitive sound and wondered what it meant. He would ask later...much later.


	14. Chapter 14

~OOooOO~

Back in the Great Hall, the students were having Saturday morning breakfast. Severus ate whatever was on his plate, not really paying attention. He was more concerned about where the hand on his thigh was going. Right now, it was drawing small circular patterns on the fabric of his trousers.

He was of two minds. One mind said to remove the hand and make its owner stop. The other mind told him to enjoy the fact that a handsome man wanted and desired him. Right now, he was listening more to the second voice and ignoring the first. William Weasley had the most sinful hands, he decided. He wanted to feel them moving all over his body.

He'd had enough. This was long before he had been planning on surrendering, but he couldn't take the slow seduction anymore. He was human and it was killing him to sit and pretend that nothing was happening under the tablecloth. He threw his napkin on his plate and stood, making sure that his robes covered his arousal. Shooting a glare at his table companion, he stalked out of the Great Hall, holding his robes closed with one hand.

Bill watched Severus leave. He wasn't sure if the glare meant 'Leave me the Hell alone' or if it meant 'Come and get me'. He was going to guess it was the first one, but he was going to act like it was the second one. Giving Severus 10 minutes to get to his rooms, Bill stood and said his goodbyes to the other instructors, never noticing the smile playing around the edges of Minerva McGonagall's lips.

"Give him Hell, Bill!" she whispered, paying attention to her breakfast once more.

~OOooOO~

Bill quickly made his way to Severus' rooms. He gave the hidden door the password and went inside. He didn't see the startled student watching from the end of the hallway. _Snape?_ thought Hermione. _Ewww!_

Bill paused on the other side of the door, taking in the austere decor of Severus' chambers. _Needs a little livening up._ He crossed the room, making for the doorway on the opposite wall. He pushed open the door and his breath caught. Severus was sitting in the center of his bed, legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankles. He was leaning back on his hands, looking like he was posing for a picture. He had taken off his robes and shoes, but was still dressed in his black trousers and white shirt.

"I would have thought that, at some point over the last twelve years, you would have changed that password. Or am I the only student who ever knew it?"

"I'm surprised that you remember it after twelve years. I've never invited anyone here who needed to know the password, so why change it?"

Bill was shocked. "I'm the only one you've ever given the password to?"

Severus nodded and, resting his weight on his right arm, he crooked his finger at Bill. Bill wasted no time in joining Severus on the bed. Before Bill could touch him, however, Severus stopped him with a raised hand.

"There will be rules. You will not behave any differently toward me. I won't have the students knowing. You will meet me here. There are fewer students in this part of the castle. You will tell no one, not even that brother of yours."

Bill thought about the rules for a moment. The only one he had a problem with was the last one. "Why can't I tell Charlie? He won't say anything."

"Not even to his boyfriend?"

"No, if I ask him not to, Charlie won't tell Harry anything. It's going to seem odd if I start disappearing for long periods of time. If I'm needed, someone should know where I am."

Severus couldn't fault William's reasoning. "Alright. But _**only**_ Charles."

Bill nodded in agreement and leaned forward to press his lips to Severus'. Both men groaned and immediately deepened the kiss.

_Finally,_ thought Bill.

_Finally,_ thought Severus.


	15. Chapter 15

~OOooOO~

Things began to settle down a little for Harry. He and Charlie were doing great, his classes were going well and he had started studying for his N.E.W.T.s. Something was still going on with Bill, but he couldn't figure it out. He was pretty sure that Charlie knew, but he wasn't saying anything. That meant, he supposed, that it wasn't any of his business.

The ninth of February brought a visitor to the castle. Harry knew that the teachers had all been ordered to stay silent about his ability to do wandless magic. So far, it had not caused any problems, as Harry retained a tight control on it.

The moment that Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge walked into the Great Hall that morning, completely ruining his breakfast, he knew his secret was out. He also knew who had informed the Ministry about it.

Malfoy.

As Fudge walked to the head table, Harry turned to Ron. "Leaving quietly now. I'll be in Charlie's hut."

Both Ron and Hermione nodded and walked out at the same time Harry did. They walked behind him, side by side, so that Fudge wouldn't see Harry in front of them. The instant that Harry cleared the doors, he disapparated. Ron and Hermione kept walking until they got past the entry hall. They were scared for Harry. They left, running, to find Sirius.

Back in the Great Hall, Fudge stopped in front of Minerva. "Good Morning Professor McGonagall. I've come to see Mr. Potter."

"Why?"

Fudge looked startled. He wasn't used to having his actions questioned. "That doesn't matter. I wish to speak with him."

"It does matter. Mr. Potter is one of my students. I have the responsibility to protect him. I need to know why you wish to see him. If I do not have a reason, you will _**not**_ be meeting with him."

"Now see here, my good..."

"Stop. Right. There. If I do not have a reason, you will _**not**_ be meeting with him. Is that understood, Minister Fudge? You have no right to come here and demand to see one of my students."

"You're more stubborn than Albus Dumbledore was," Fudge ground out.

"Yes, and you would do well to remember that. Now, why do you wish to see Mr. Potter?"

Fudge pulled the vest to his suit down so that it covered his portly belly a little more. "I have been informed that Mr. Potter is able to do wandless magic. We know he didn't have this ability before the final battle with You-Know-Who, so it must have developed after that. We need to study this ability to see if there is any residual dark magic residing in him."

Before Minerva could answer, the doors to the Great Hall were flung open. In stalked Remus Lupin, robes billowing around him like a black cloud, and a very large black dog.

"I-I-Is _**that**_ a-a-a g-g-gr-grim?" Fudge stammered.

"Yes, Minister Fudge, I do believe it is a grim. Is there a problem with this?" Minerva was having a difficult time controlling her laughter. The fear on Fudge's face was priceless.

Remus and the dog stepped up to the head table. "We've been informed that _**that**_" Remus pointed at Fudge "is here to see our godson."

"How can a grim have a godson?" The instructors could almost feel the intelligence level in the Great Hall drop with every word Fudge said. Fudge had no idea why Remus Lupin was there. As he watched, the grim disappeared, only to be replaced by a very angry Sirius Black. Fudge stumbled back and fell on his well-padded posterior. He emitted a small squeak. Sirius Black was one of the few people he was truly afraid of. Harry Potter was another.

"Why are you here?" Sirius growled at him. He knew Fudge was here for Harry and he would fight tooth and claw against that.

"I-I'm here to speak with Mr. Potter about his ability to use wandless magic."

"No."

"What do you mean 'no'?"

"I didn't realize that it was such a difficult concept to understand. I am Harry Potter's godfather, his legal guardian. You will not be meeting with him without my approval and I am _**not**_ giving you approval to meet with him." Sirius turned to look at Minerva. "If he is seen speaking with my godson, I want him evicted from these grounds. Harry will not be meeting with him now, or any other time. Are there any other statements that I need to make, so that this _**thing**_ comes nowhere near my godson?"

"Yes, I need to know if you would allow Aurors to speak with him."

"No."

"Will you allow _**anyone**_ from the Ministry of Magic to speak with Mr. Potter?"

"No."

"Very well. Minister Fudge, it seems that you do not have the required approval to speak with Mr. Potter. I ask that you leave these grounds immediately and do not return without an invitation." Minerva calmly resumed eating her breakfast, paying no attention to the sputtering noises that Fudge was making.

Sirius walked up to Fudge and stood about a foot away from him. "You will leave my godson alone. You cannot speak with him without my approval _**and**_ my presence with him. If you try, I will have you hauled in front of the Wizengamot. Leave. Now." The last two words were spoken in a low growl. Remus walked up next to Sirius, his amber coloured eyes trained on the Minister. Fudge only then remembered that Remus Lupin was a werewolf. And it was only two days until the full moon.

Fudge let out another squeak, turned and all but ran out of the Great Hall. Sirius transformed back into a grim and followed him out of the door. Remus walked up to Charlie.

"Harry's at your hut, you'd better get there."

Charlie looked at Minerva. She nodded and motioned him off. Charlie left out of the side door and apparated to his hut. He carefully pushed the door open. "Harry? It's Charlie."

He opened the door the rest of the way and stepped inside, looking around. He found Harry curled up on his bed, crying. He crawled onto the bed and lifted Harry into his arms. Pointing his wand at the door, he locked and silenced the hut using a spell that Bill had taught him. Fudge wasn't getting in here.

"Harry, love. I'm here. You're going to be fine. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"Why? Why can't I be normal? Why can't everyone leave me alone? All I wanted was a normal year at school, for once. I've been reasonably happy so far. Why can't everyone leave me alone?" He wound his arms around Charlie's neck and continued to cry.

Charlie rubbed his hands on Harry's back, trying to calm him. "I'm sorry, Love." He kissed the top of Harry's head. "I'm so, so sorry. If I could have stopped that, I would have. I don't know why they won't leave you alone."

Harry could hear Charlie's comforting voice and the arms around him. He knew he was overreacting, but he couldn't seem to help it. It was like the dam holding all his emotions back had just burst open, flooding him, and he didn't know how to handle it. He held on to Charlie and began to whisper to him in Parseltongue.

_I love you...I love you...I love you. Please, just hold me. Make me feel whole. Please love me...I love you...I love you._

Charlie heard the hissing whispers again and fought to control his reaction. He didn't want to scare Harry. He heard the same repetitive sounds he heard the last time and it suddenly struck him as to what he was hearing. He leaned down and placed his lips next to Harry's ear.

"I love you...I love you. I really do love you, Harry Potter. I want you to know that, I want you to believe that. I love you more than anything else in this world. Even more than dragons...and that's saying a lot."

He felt Harry's chuckle, followed by a gasp as the other words sunk in. Harry's head tilted back, so that he could see Charlie's eyes. Harry had once heard that the eyes are the windows to the soul. Charlie Weasley's eyes were no exception. Harry could easily see the love for him in those brilliant blue eyes.

"You love me?"

"With all my heart. I've never loved anybody or anything the way I love you."

Charlie opened his mouth to say more but Harry's lips were on his, cutting off any attempt at speech or even rational thought.

The only sounds heard, for a long while after that, were moans and the sounds of skin sliding against skin. And the occasional sibilant whisper.


	16. Chapter 16

~OOooOO~

Bill and Severus were unaware of the incident happening in the Great Hall. Neither of them had classes that morning, so they were indulging themselves with a lie-in. Neither man had expected it to be this easy. They just seemed to fit together like pieces of a puzzle.

Severus was wondering why he'd ever let Bill slip through his fingers twelve years ago. He was a gorgeous specimen. His red hair, currently spread across the pillow, the blue eyes that seemed to look directly into a person's soul. And his body! Severus had never been lucky enough to have had a lover with a body like Bill's. Until now.

Severus was wondering when he'd stopped calling him William and started using the nickname. Bill actually fit him better. Not only that, but 'Bill' was a whole lot easier to get out during sex than 'William'.

Severus was wondering if he should wake Bill up the regular way or by surprising him. He chose to surprise him. He began by softly kissing his shoulder. He worked his way across the freckled skin, pausing here and there to nibble and suck at the freckles. He reached a nipple and drew it into his mouth, savoring the taste and texture. As he contented himself with drawing on Bill's chest with his tongue, his hands started exploring on their own. One slowly journeyed down to Bill's abdomen, stopping briefly to dip into his navel, before continuing its journey. It reached its destination and began to slowly play with his cock.

Severus turned to look at his prize. It had been slowly lengthening as Severus had played with the rest of Bill's body. Bringing his mouth to meet his hand, he took the entire shaft into his mouth. Bill let out a groan that told Severus that he was finally awake to enjoy the effort that was being put into this.

Bill's hand grabbed onto Severus' hair and he threaded his fingers though it. Not many people realized that his hair wasn't greasy, it was an oil that he had to use to protect his hair and scalp from the effects of being around potions all day. He washed it off as soon as he reached his chambers. The hair in question was now a silky black mass, falling to his shoulders.

Severus quickly turned Bill over and began again, this time down his back. When he reached Bill's arse, the potions master grabbed a bottle of oil from the side table and poured a thin stream down the cleft. Gently massaging the oil into Bill's entrance, Severus applied oil to himself. He pressed one finger into the opening, sliding it gently past the muscles. He added a second finger and began to move them apart. From the moans coming from the head of the bed, Bill was enjoying this as much as he was.

Severus pulled on Bill's hips until he raised them off of the bed. Shoving a pillow underneath them, Severus knelt behind Bill. He gently pressed himself into Bill's entrance. This was his favorite part of the whole act, except for the orgasm. He felt as if Bill was swallowing him whole, as if his entire being was joining with Bill.

Bill was incoherent with longing and desire. Severus was moving far too slowly. He pushed his hips back until he felt Severus' body touch his. After a moment, Severus began to move, just small thrusts, teases really. Bill pushed back again and felt Severus' hands on his hips, holding him still.

Severus leaned over his back, kissing the back of his neck. "Ah, no, Bill. You must be patient. All good things come to those who wait." He kept up with the tiny thrusts until Bill moaned desperately.

"Please! Oh God, please Sev!"

"I love to hear you beg. I love to feel you all desperate and clinging around me. It makes me feel as if I could do this to you all day."

Bill groaned and tried to thrust himself back against Severus again. Taking the hint, Severus gripped Bill's hips and began to thrust powerfully into him. Bill's moans degenerated into incoherent rambling. Severus could feel Bill begin to tighten around him and sped up his thrusts. Both men fell over the edge at the same time, shaking and sweating.

Severus pulled himself away from Bill and collapsed on the bed next him. He put his arms around his lover and pulled him close, running his fingers through the red hair and murmuring soft words in his ear.

Severus knew that he was falling in love with Bill. He wasn't sure what to do about it. He wasn't sure he wanted to be in love. After all these years of being in love with only Lily, now there was someone else in his heart. Bill didn't replace his love for Lily, but coexisted there, alongside his first love.

Now, how to find out if Bill felt the same?


	17. Chapter 17

~OOooOO~

Minerva McGonagall had called five people in to her office. It was the Saturday following Minister Fudge's visit to the school. Poppy Pomfrey was already there, waiting. One by one, the other four arrived, Harry and Charlie being the last two.

"You're wondering, I'm sure, why I called you here. I felt that it might be best to give the Ministry what it wants. Within reason, of course."

"_**What?**_" Sirius leapt to his feet, only to be dragged back down by both Harry and Remus.

"Listen to her Siri, I think I know what she has planned." Harry calmed his godfather.

"Thank you, Harry. The Ministry will insist on a battery of tests being run, to see if there is any dark magic left over from your absorption of Voldemort's magic. I don't believe there is, and neither does Poppy. She would have seen it on the scan she did when you told us about the wandless magic. I am going to suggest to Minister Fudge that Poppy run the tests. However, he, most likely, will not agree to this without an Auror present. I will suggest Nymphadora Tonks as the Auror. She is your cousin, Sirius, and she adores Harry."

"What if they say they want someone else? They'll know that Tonks is my cousin."

"I will insist that, if they want this test done, it will have to be Auror Tonks present. That will be the only way that they will get my approval. She is a good Auror and all they will have to do afterward is look at her memories of the scans. Poppy?"

The medi-witch looked at Harry. "Will you let me run a series of scans now, just to make certain that they won't see anything that they are looking for?"

Harry nodded and stood. The medi-witch ran her wand over and around Harry's body for a series of four different scans. "It is as I expected. There are no traces of any kind of dark magic in Mr. Potter's body. Any tests I run will show nothing but a huge increase in magical strength and a few new abilities. There is nothing about Mr. Potter that would necessitate taking him into custody to 'study' his abilities."

Harry had known this, but heaved a sigh of relief anyway. "I don't want Fudge in there for the testing. He's going to want to be there."

"I won't allow it, Harry. There's no way that I will allow that _**thing**_ anywhere near you."

"No, indeed. I will be present, as will the three of you." She nodded at Sirius, Remus and Charlie. "I'm certain that, with Mr. Weasley being present, there should be no problem."

"I won't let anything go on that shouldn't. I've got something at stake here, too." Charlie placed his arm across Harry's shoulders. "I also won't allow any kind of cheating. Not that you would, Poppy, but I will even swear on my magic, if he wants that reassurance."

Minerva nodded. "Good. I'm sure he will ask for that. If we are in agreement, I will send an owl to Minister Fudge, telling him what I propose."

They all nodded. Harry knew a strange sort of relief. Maybe, with this, he would _**finally**_ get to have the rest of his final year at Hogwarts go smoothly.

~OOooOO~

Surprisingly, the Minister agreed. The following Saturday, he arrived at Hogwarts with Nymphadora Tonks in tow. Her hair was an outrageous shade of bubblegum pink, the colour it normally was when she was happy. She gave Sirius a tight hug and a noisy kiss on his cheek. She turned to Harry and hugged him a little less tightly.

"Wotcher, Harry."

"Hi Tonks." Harry grinned at the happy Auror.

She smiled at Charlie, "Lookin' good, Reds."

Charlie smiled back and raised his wand. "Just a little reassurance. Finite Incantum!"

Tonks' face went slack for a moment and then she looked around. "What's going on?" She rounded on Fudge. "_**What did you do to me, you GIT?**_" Her hair turned a violent shade of red.

Fudge seemed to shrink into himself. He began to mumble under his breath. Sirius pointed his wand at the Minister. "Petrificus Totalus!"

Fudge's arms snapped to his sides and his legs came together. He fell, face first, onto the floor. Charlie rolled him over. He stared up at them, fear evident in his eyes.

Minerva came to stand over him. "Yes, Cornelius, I would be afraid. I do not think this will go well for you now." She moved away to the floo and threw a pinch of powder into the hearth. "Gawain Robards, Head Auror." She stuck her head into the green flames and spoke with the man on the other side. She moved back and threw some more powder into the flames.

A tall, muscular man stepped through and walked over to where Minister Fudge lay on the floor. "Got yourself into it this time, didn't you Fudge? I've been waiting for this. I hereby place you under arrest for the use of an Unforgivable Curse on Auror Nymphadora Tonks. Your memories of this incident will be taken from you to be used as evidence in the trial against you." He levitated Fudge's body and walked with it to the floo. "I'm going to send Kingsley over to oversee this." He looked at Harry. "You trust Kingsley, right?"

"Yes, sir, but he'll get the same thing when he gets here."

Gawain chuckled. "I'll warn him." He left the school with Fudge's body beside him.


	18. Chapter 18

~OOooOO~

As they had expected, the tests came up clear. Kingsley swore that he wouldn't allow any more testing, or anything else, from the Ministry. Fudge's trial was held the following Friday, and Harry, Sirius, Tonks, Minerva and Poppy had all been subpoenaed.

They appeared, had their memories looked at, and sat in the courtroom. The Wizengamot appeared, after several hours of deliberating and reviewing the evidence. Fudge's memories had proven interesting. He had apparently been planning to take Harry out of Hogwarts, place him in Ministry custody and declare that his power surges had made him criminally insane.

Poppy's tests had proved that Harry was not insane. They had, however, proved beyond doubt, that Harry was the most powerful wizard that had ever lived. His own magic had been very powerful, but then, added to that were Albus Dumbledore's magic and that of Voldemort. As the court was shown where Harry ranked on a magical scale, there were shocked gasps. No one had ever seen anything like that.

Before the sentencing, Madame Bones had asked if Harry had anything to say, as he was the victim in all this. He nodded and stood.

"I never asked for any of this. All I ever wanted was to be normal. I found out that, for me, _**normal**_ doesn't exist. I've been deified, I've been called a liar, I've been tortured, I've been abused. I don't know what 'normal' is. I was placed in the so-called protective care of my last remaining blood relatives. They abused and starved me. My back is covered in scars, words carved into my skin. By the time of my first year at Hogwarts, I'd had more broken bones than most professional Quidditch players get in a lifetime career. Then, I came to Hogwarts. I've been chased by Voldemort and his lackeys. I've been tortured into giving my blood so that he could come back. I've been hit with the Killing Curse twice. I died to save each and every person in this room. Now, I find that Cornelius Fudge wants to lock me away, to keep me from taking over the Ministry.

"I'm 17 years old. Why would I take over the ministry? What would I do with it? I think that it is better run by someone like Kingsley Shacklebolt. In fact, I nominate him for the position of Minister of Magic. You need a new Minister and Kingsley would be perfect. He was Head of the Aurors, he is powerful in his own right and he is fair. You could do a lot worse than him, in fact, you have. Look at the man on trial here.

"All I am asking is that everyone leave me alone. There should be no more reasons for anyone to come looking for me. I want to finish my schooling and relax. Isn't that what a 17 year old _**should**_ be doing? Please, leave me alone."

Harry sat back down next to Sirius, shaking. They waited, a little anxiously, for the Wizengamot's ruling. Amelia Bones stood.

"We have reviewed the evidence and listened to Mr. Potter's statements. Our ruling is thus: Cornelius Fudge you are guilty of the attempted torture of one Harry James Potter, your memories do not lie. You are guilty of casting an Unforgivable Curse on Nymphadora Tonks, Auror. You will be placed in a black cell at Azkaban, where you will spend the remainder of your years. For your crimes, you will never again see the light of day. The Wizengamot has ruled, and our judgement will be made available to the general public."

Sirius hugged Harry, who buried his head in Sirius' shoulder so that no one could see his tears. Madame Bones continued speaking.

"I believe that Mr. Potter was correct. I hereby nominate Kingsley Shacklebolt for the position of Minister of Magic. All in favor?" A clerk counted the hands. "All against?" There were none.

She turned to look at the Auror, who sat in shock. "Congratulations, Minister Shacklebolt. We will get together tomorrow, so that we can discuss important matters."

The group from Hogwarts, plus Tonks, made their way out of the courtroom. They were besieged in the lobby by reporters. Sirius and Minerva put their arms around Harry and, following the path made by Tonks, left the building. They hurried to the apparation point and, one by one, apparated back to stand at the front gates of Hogwarts.

Sirius looked at Minerva. "See if you can find Charlie, Remus, Ron and Hermione. I'm taking Harry to Charlie's hut."

She nodded and set off to the castle with Poppy. Tonks went with Sirius and Harry to the hut. By this time, Harry was having difficulties walking. He was physically and mentally exhausted. Sirius stopped to pick Harry up in his arms and continued walking. Charlie and Bill were standing outside of the hut, talking, when the three arrived. Charlie saw Harry in Sirius' arms and ran to meet them.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Charlie took Harry out of Sirius' arms and cradled him close to his own body.

Harry raised a tear streaked face. "Tired, Charlie. All I want to do is sleep." He laid his head on Charlie's shoulder, the tears continuing to stream down his cheeks.

Charlie carried Harry into the hut and laid him on the bed. He tucked the covers around Harry and sat next to him until he fell asleep. Then, he joined the others outside the hut just as Remus, Ron and Hermione arrived.

"What happened? Why is he crying like that?" Charlie was worried. Harry had been crying more lately and it was disconcerting.

Sirius looked at him. "I think he's worn out from the worrying. He was really worried that they would find something in those scans, even though he knew there was nothing to find." Sirius went on to explain what had happened. "Kingsley will make a great Minister. He saw most of what happened to Harry, so he'll be against anything else being done to him."

"Good. Hopefully, they'll leave him alone now. The day Fudge came here, Harry kept repeating that he just wanted to be left alone. I hope they'll give him some peace now." They were getting a little cold, so they all moved inside.

Charlie sat on the edge of the bed and picked up Harry's hand. Sirius watched as Charlie gently stroked Harry's hand, trying to give comfort, even while Harry was asleep. He wondered what Charlie felt for Harry. He knew that, whatever it was, it wasn't small. He made a mental note to speak with Charlie later about it.

"I don't want to leave Harry alone, but I have two classes this afternoon. Anyone want to volunteer to sit with Harry?"

Bill nodded. "I have an open period now, but I do have the last class of the day. I'll sit with him now."

"I'll stay with him later. I'll come out in plenty of time for you to get to your next class." Sirius wanted time alone with Harry, even if he was asleep. He might share that time with Remus, but no one else.

Charlie thanked them and went out to meet his next class. Bill looked at Sirius. "I have to talk to someone before I sit with Harry. Can you stay here for right now? I'll be back soon."

Sirius and Remus nodded. Ron and Hermione left with Bill to go back to the castle.

"Tonks, how well do you know Charlie?"

"We were in the same year. What do you want to know?"

"Does he hide his feelings?"

"Nah, not that one. Bill, yes, Charlie, no. He loves Harry, you know. He and I talked about it yesterday. He wants to talk to _**you**_ about it. I think..." she paused dramatically "he wants to ask your permission to bond with Harry."

Sirius was ecstatic. He liked Charlie for Harry, he felt they were good together.

~OOooOO~

Bill walked to Severus' chambers. He was a little late, but he had to tell Severus that he was going to stay with Harry until his last class of the day. He let himself into the room, looking for Severus.

"In here." The voice came from the room that Severus used as a private office. Bill leaned against the door and watched his lover writing notes into what looked like a muggle notebook. He walked over to the desk and kissed Severus gently.

"I am assuming there is a reason for you being late?"

"Harry and the others came back from the trial. He got life in a black cell."

"Good. He deserves it." He looked up. "I am also assuming there is a reason you are still dressed."

"Harry's a bit drained emotionally right now. Charlie didn't want to leave him alone, but he has two classes this afternoon. I'm going to stay with Harry until it's time for my last class."

Severus frowned. "I had hoped that we could talk. Like you wanted."

"I know, but I want to help Charlie and Harry. Charlie's not said anything to anyone, so I felt that I could do this for him." Bill leaned in and kissed him again. "What I wanted to talk about is this...I love you Sev. I want to be with you. Openly. I want everyone to know that I love you. What I don't know, however, is how you feel about me. I want you to think about that. I want you to know in your heart what you want. I will see you tonight, after class. We can have something to eat here, and then we'll talk." Bill kissed him one more time and walked to the door. "I'll see you later. Think about it."

Severus stared at the closed door. Bill had just handed him everything he had ever wanted. Someone of his own, someone he wouldn't have to share with anyone. Severus knew that Bill had succeeded where no one else ever had. He had succeeded in making Severus acknowledge that he cared about someone, that he loved someone, other than Lily's memory.

He knew Bill was right. They couldn't hide this anymore. He wanted to go to the Astronomy Tower and shout to the whole school that he was in love with Bill Weasley. He smiled softly to himself. He had a romantic dinner to plan.


	19. Chapter 19

~OOooOO~

_**16 March, 1998**_

Charlie was worried. He hadn't seen Harry at breakfast and neither Ron nor Hermione knew where he was. Even though they had been assured by Amelia Bones that Harry would be left alone, he was still worried that someone would come after Harry. He headed out to the quidditch pitch to look for him there.

He heard a strange noise and cautiously approached the broomshed. He recognized the sounds of someone being ill. He peeked his head around the corner and was shocked at what he saw. Harry was lying on the ground, on his side. As he watched, Harry's body tensed and he vomited. Charlie quickly moved to his side and picked him up.

"Harry! Are you alright? What's wrong? Why are you being sick?"

"Don't know. Madame Pomfrey." Charlie realized that Harry was asking to be taken to the infirmary. He stood, still clutching Harry to his chest. He quickly made his way to the castle and into the infirmary.

"Poppy!" The medi-witch looked out of her office and almost ran to his side.

"What's happened now?"

"I don't know. I found him by the broomshed, being sick." Charlie laid Harry on one of the beds as Poppy closed the privacy screen around them. He pulled up a chair and sat on the other side of the bed, holding Harry's hand. He watched as the medi-witch ran a series of scans over Harry's body. Charlie saw Harry's body tense again and conjured a basin. Harry rolled to his side and vomited again, before collapsing back against the pillows.

Charlie saw Poppy's eyebrows raise and, ending the first set of scans, began another.

"Conceptus Indicia"

Charlie's eyes went wide as he recognized the spell for a pregnancy test. He looked at Harry and saw that he also recognized the charm. Harry's eyes met his and he reached for Charlie's hand again. They both turned and saw that Poppy was watching them.

"I am assuming that you both know the spell I used" Both men nodded. "I am going to summon Sirius. He's your legal guardian, until you graduate." She moved to the hearth and threw a pinch of powder into it. Green flames roared to life. She stuck her head in the flames and was speaking to someone on the other side. They watched as Poppy moved back and Sirius came through the flames. He immediately came to the side of the bed.

"Harry? Poppy told me that you were sick. What's wrong?" Sirius sat on the side of the bed and brushed Harry's fringe out of his face. When Harry said nothing, just looked at him with a worried expression on his face, he turned to look at Charlie. "What's wrong?"

Charlie looked at Harry and, receiving a nod, drew a deep breath. "Sirius...um...well, we weren't quite expecting this. Harry's pregnant." Both men braced themselves.

Sirius' face went blank. Harry could almost hear him think. Before either of them could react, Sirius reached across Harry and punched Charlie, sending him sprawling to the floor. He then wrapped his arms around Harry, crying.

"Are you really, Bambi? Are you really pregnant?"

"Yes, Siri. Apparently the contraceptive charms I've been using didn't work." Charlie's head popped up over the side of the bed.

"You've been using them, too?" Harry nodded. They all three turned to look at Poppy. She looked a little scared. If both men had been using charms, how did Harry end up pregnant?

"Did you use them on just yourselves?"

Harry nodded, but Charlie shook his head. "I've been using them on Harry, not myself. I've been using one Bill taught me. It's stronger than the one we were taught in 5th year, and it's for the partner."

"Hmm, that would be it, then. If you had used it on yourself, this might not have happened. But, then again, with Harry's magical strength, it still might have. The body of a wizard will find ways to do what it wants, especially given that Harry is so powerful. I don't understand, though, how, if you were using a stronger charm."

Sirius looked at Charlie. "Sorry about hitting you. Didn't know about the charms."

Charlie stopped rubbing his jaw and nodded his acceptance. "I would have done the same. We didn't expect this. We were trying to avoid it. At least until later." Harry blushed when he heard that.

Harry looked at Poppy and Sirius. "What do we do now? I refuse to even think about aborting it."

Sirius hugged Harry again. "I wouldn't ask that of you. Even though I'm still your guardian until you graduate, you are of age and can make your own decisions." He looked at Charlie, a guarded expression in his eyes. "What about you? This is your child, too. What do you want?"

Charlie wrapped his arms around Harry. "What I want is to bond with Harry. I love him and want to spend the rest of our lives proving it."

Harry looked into his eyes and saw the truth there. Charlie really wanted to bond with him. He felt the tears burn in his eyes, before they spilled over onto his cheeks. "Yes."


	20. Chapter 20

~OOooOO~

Poppy summoned Minerva and told her about Harry's pregnancy. She smiled at them and immediately left to call an emergency meeting with the Board of Governors. She was prepared to beg, on Harry's behalf, to allow Harry and Charlie to live together in Charlie's chambers before they were bonded. Once they were told of the pregnancy, the Board didn't make her beg. They were almost falling over themselves to agree. Everyone felt that, over the years, Harry had put up with enough.

_Sometimes it pays to be The Boy Who Lived,_ thought Minerva.

That afternoon, Charlie showed Harry to his new room. The only condition to their living together had been that they must have separate bedrooms. No matter that Harry was already pregnant, they had to keep separate bedrooms.

Charlie looked at Minerva. "I know that they said that we have to have two bedrooms, but what were their _**exact**_ words?"

Minerva smiled, looking very like a Slytherin in that moment. "Their exact words were that you _**must**_ have separate bedrooms."

"Did they place any other conditions on this?"

"No...just that there must be two separate bedrooms."

"Alright. We'll abide by their wishes. I will have my room and Harry will have his." Harry's head shot up.

"But..."

"Harry, they said that we have to have two bedrooms." He lowered his head to look into Harry's eyes. "They didn't say you had to sleep in yours."

Minerva smiled again. "I thought you might think that way. I have no problems with the situation. I personally feel that too much has been placed on your shoulders, Harry. I realized that Albus was doing what he thought was best for 'the greater good', but I think it's time you got to be you." She smiled at him. "You need to figure out what you want to do with your time, after you graduate. I know you had said that you wanted to be an Auror, but I would like to make you an offer."

Harry looked at Minerva, then at Charlie. "Alright, what's the offer?"

"I would like you to come back, next school year, to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I realize that Bill has that position this year, but the appointment was only for one year. I don't know if he will still want the position, but I am offering it to you. You have already proved that you are more than up to the task."

"Why would Bill still want the position? I thought he was going back to Egypt after this year was up."

"No, I'm staying here."

Harry, Charlie and Minerva turned to look at the doorway. Bill stood, leaning against the jamb, hands in his pockets. Next to him stood Severus Snape, his arm around Bill's waist. The meaning was obvious.

"B-Bill?" Harry was shocked to see that arm clasped tightly about Bill's waist. As he watched, the long fingers flexed slightly, as if tensing to draw back. Choosing not to ask about that, he asked about Bill's statement. "You're staying?"

"Yes. I've requested a transfer to Gringotts in Diagon Alley. I'm staying. I have far more reason to stay here than leave." He looked back at his lover and smiled. A rare smile graced the lips of the potions professor. The hand stayed on Bill's hip.

Harry smiled. Apparently he wasn't the only one to find love with a Weasley. Charlie was looking nervously back and forth between Bill and Minerva. She noticed his difficulties.

"Oh, I already know. I've known since before it actually happened. Like my predecessor, I know a great many things about what goes on in this castle."

Severus flushed and went to move his hand away from Bill. Bill's hand quickly left his pocket and rested on top of Severus', halting its movement away. He'd finally gotten that hand where he wanted it, he wasn't letting it go.

"What's going on here, though? Ron told me that all of your things were moved out of your room and the second Head Boy's room has disappeared."

Harry looked at Charlie. He walked over to him. "You tell him, he's your brother." Harry whispered in Charlie's ear.

"Harry will be living here with me now."

Bill's eyebrows rose and his jaw went slack. Severus' brows drew together in a frown. "Are you and Mr. Potter now bonded? You wouldn't be able to have him move into these rooms otherwise."

Minerva chuckled. "No Severus. They are not bonded...yet. That will come later. There are...extenuating circumstances. You must tell them the rest, Charlie."

"Alright. Not a word of this to Mum yet, though. Understand?" Bill nodded. "You are going to be an uncle in about 7 and a half months time."

Bill's jaw finally dropped open. "You're pregnant?" He was looking at Charlie.

Harry laughed. And laughed. And _**LAUGHED**_. Gaining control of himself, he asked "Bill, can you honestly see Charlie pregnant? _**I'm**_ pregnant. And, no, we weren't trying, no matter what anyone thinks." He looked pointedly at Severus, who flushed guiltily.

"Poppy thinks that, because of Harry's magical strength, no contraceptive charm will work for him." Charlie put his arms around Harry from behind, resting his palms flat on Harry's abdomen. "He was using the normal one we are taught and I used that Egyptian one you taught me."

Bill's eyes widened. "And it _**didn't**_ work? Ah...oh shit."

Severus looked at Bill. "Would that be the one you are having me use on you?"

Bill was pale. "Uh...yeah."

Minerva walked over to Bill. "Conceptus Indicia"

They all watched as a glow spread over Bill's abdomen. They could see the small bundle of _**something**_ in the projection from the spell. Bill turned even more pale, his eyes rolled back and he slid down the door jamb toward the floor. Severus quickly lifted Bill into his arms and brought him into the room. He laid him on the sofa and gently stroked his face. Minerva ran another scan over him, making sure he was alright.

"Severus, I'm going to get Poppy." His black eyes held hers. She could see the fear in them. "He's fine Severus. She needs to do more scans to see if he needs extra nutrients." She turned to Harry. "I want her to check you over, as well. With all the stress you have been under, this will not be easy on your body." She stepped over to the hearth and flooed to the infirmary.

~OOooOO~

After all the tests were done, both Bill and Harry were given a clean bill of health. Poppy ran some extra tests on Harry, just to make sure that the stress had not affected him adversely. She turned to Severus.

"I want you to make nutrient potions for Harry. He's fine, but he has had so much happen to him recently, that I don't want to take any chances. If you feel it is necessary, you may also have Bill take them. They won't harm him, and will give him the extra energy he will need." She turned to look at both Severus and Charlie at the same time. "I would suggest that you get Molly and Arthur here this weekend. They won't be happy if you keep this from them." She turned away, but turned right back, to look at Harry. "I suggest that _**you**_ tell Ronald and Hermione today. They have been looking for you. I believe that they are worried."

Harry nodded. He walked to the hearth and threw in a pinch of powder. "Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger." It took a few moments, but their faces appeared in the flames.

"Harry! Where have you been? We've been worried about you and the second Head Boy's room is gone! Where are you?"

"I'm in Charlie's rooms. Come down when you have the time."

"Stand back." After a moment, Ron and Hermione stepped into the room, brushing themselves off. They looked at the teachers and the nurse. "What's going on?"

"Is something wrong, mate?" Ron was worried, but that disappeared when he saw the possessive way that Snape was holding Bill. Hermione didn't seem surprised. "Bill?"

Bill drew a deep breath. "Why don't you two sit down. I think you may need it."

They went through the necessary explanations. Ron turned a nasty shade of green when told about Bill's pregnancy. "Have you told Mum yet? She'll be right pissed if you don't tell her soon."

"We're going to get Mum and Dad here this weekend. Mum will be in her glory. You know how much she wants grandchildren."

Severus looked as if he were in pain. "Minerva, I would like to tell the other teachers about myself and Bill. If you could call a meeting, either this evening or tomorrow morning, I would appreciate it."

She nodded and looked at Harry. "I will also inform them about your pregnancy. The other teachers need to know, so that they can look out for you." She left the room, Poppy trailing behind her.

"So, you're going to be living here now? How did Professor McGonagall arrange that? I thought that you were only allowed to live with each other if you were bonded." Hermione was excited. She had never witnessed a male pregnancy, and now she had two that she could study.

"I don't know. I didn't ask. I'm not really sure I want to know, either." Harry slipped an arm around Charlie's waist and leaned into him. "I am going to ask, though, that you don't tell anyone about my being pregnant. Let everyone assume that Charlie and I are already bonded and leave it at that."

Both Ron and Hermione nodded. "What about you, Bill?"

"It shouldn't start to show until closer to the end of the term. At that point, everyone will be so concerned about O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s that it won't matter to them. The only people who will know will be the ones we care about."

Severus agreed. "I will not hide the fact that your brother and I are together, Mr. Weasley. I apologize now for any discomfort that this may cause you."

Ron looked at his instructor. "That's entirely up to the two of you. I'm not going to be embarrassed because my brother has found love with you. I found my love, why shouldn't he find his?" Ron's eyes narrowed, making Severus uncomfortable. "I may be your student, but I will tell you this...If you hurt my brother, in any way, I will make life a living hell for you. I'm not Fred and George's brother for nothing."

Severus paled again, but nodded. He had no intention of _**ever**_ hurting his love.


	21. Chapter 21

~OOooOO~

Life pretty much continued like normal for a little while. Charlie and Harry got used to living with each other fairly quickly. All of Harry's clothing and his personal effects were kept in his own room. The edict handed down by the Board of Governors required that Harry's room be his and Charlie's room be separate. So Harry would bathe in the morning and change in his room and, at the end of the day, would change into pajama bottoms in his room. He and Charlie, however, slept in Charlie's room.

Bill and Severus had moved all of Bill's things to Severus' chambers at once. Since they were both teachers, they didn't need anyone's permission to share rooms. It took a little getting used to for Severus, as he had never shared his rooms with anyone before. The second room was being turned into a nursery.

Molly and Arthur visited every weekend. It had taken a while for Molly to accept that her eldest child was living with Severus, but, eventually, she had. She now spent a lot of time with Severus and Charlie, planning who knows what between them. Bill and Harry had learned, very quickly, to leave the room when Molly came in.

April 20th brought another surprise to Hogwarts, in the form of a bruised and battered Draco Malfoy. Narcissa had pulled him out of Durmstrang and was returning him to Hogwarts. Apparently, the students at the other school had gotten word of what Malfoy had done and had taken their revenge. Even though none of the students at Durmstrang had ever met Harry Potter, they had been angry to find that this spoiled, arrogant ponce had attacked the Saviour of the Wizarding World.

When Minerva had walked into the Great Hall that morning, with both Malfoys following behind her, the entire school had gone silent. Charlie had quietly left by the side door, only to come back in through the main doors, and sat down next to Harry.

Minerva turned to look out at her students. She noticed curiosity and barely concealed hatred. "Attention everyone. As you have noticed, Mr. Malfoy has returned to Hogwarts. I am demanding that each and every one of you allow him to continue his studies, so that he may graduate. If anyone is caught tormenting him, I will give that person, or persons, the harshest punishment I am able. I need someone to volunteer to help tutor Mr. Malfoy, so that he does graduate on time."

Harry looked at Charlie and Charlie nodded back. He knew that Harry had forgiven Malfoy and had moved on. Harry stood and, with Charlie by his side, walked to the front of the Great Hall. Both Draco's and Narcissa's eyes grew wider as the two approached. Harry's robes parted as he walked and the two were able to see the slight belly that Harry was now sporting.

"Professor McGonagall, both Charlie and I are volunteering to help tutor Draco."

The Great Hall erupted in loud, angry voices, mostly from the Gryffindor table. Harry looked back at his housemates. "I have forgiven him. I've moved on with my life. I'm not going to allow one incident to keep me from helping someone who needs the help. If there are any of you who want to help, even if it's just sitting with me and Draco to calm your minds, get up here."

Ron and Hermione walked up to the table, followed by Ginny and, surprisingly Blaise Zabini. He had been one of the most vocal Slytherins against Draco when the incident had first happened. He walked up to the Malfoys and stood directly in front of the shorter, blonde wizard. "Will you give an oath on your magic that you won't do anything to harm Harry and Professor Weasley?"

Draco drew his wand, causing everyone to tense. "I, Draco Malfoy, of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Malfoy, do hereby swear, on my magic, that I will never do anything, ever again, to harm Harry James Potter or his mate, Charlie Weasley, in any way. So I have spoken, so let it be." A white light came from the tip of Malfoy's wand and enveloped him.

The Hall was, again, dead silent. Blaise turned to Minerva. "I will also help tutor Draco."

Ron and Hermione stepped forward. "I will help, too. Ron's just going to set his mind at ease." The look of relief on Draco's face was almost comical. He needed Hermione's knowledge. He hadn't been allowed to continue most of his classes at Durmstrang, due to the beatings, and had fallen behind where he needed to be. He only had about 7 more weeks to catch up. Narcissa had already made arrangements with Minerva for Draco to take his N.E.W.T.s over the summer.

Minerva nodded and looked at Ginny Weasley. "I will help also. I'm already studying N.E.W.T. level Potions and Charms."

Minerva nodded. "Very well. Miss Granger, you will assist with History of Magic and Transfiguration, Mr. Zabini, you will assist with Transfiguration and Charms. Miss Weasley, you will assist with Potions and Charms. Mr. Potter, you and Professor Weasley will assist with Defense Against the Dark Arts and Care of Magical Creatures. Mr. Weasley, you will assist wherever you can. I will draw up a schedule for the tutoring sessions." She turned to Draco and Narcissa and lowered her voice. "Mr. Malfoy, you will have your own set of rooms. I do not think it would be safe for you to rejoin the Slytherin dormitory. Professors Snape and Weasley? Please come join us."

Bill and Severus moved around the table to join the small group in front. "You will assist with the classes that you teach. I believe that Mr. Malfoy is rather far behind in Defense Against the Dark Arts and Charms, so those will be the tutoring sessions that will be the most intense." The two instructors nodded.

Draco walked up to Harry and knelt in front of him. "I apologize for what I did. It took me a while, but I realized that it was wrong. I thought, arrogantly, that you wouldn't turn down a Malfoy. I was wrong. I'm sorry." He remained on the floor, head bowed.

Harry put a hand on his shoulder. "It's over. I'm past that now. Come on, get off of the floor, that can't be too comfortable."

Draco let out a small huff of laughter. "Thank you." Harry nodded in response.

~OOooOO~

The tutoring was going well, so well that Ron had stopped going to watch and, instead, went to learn. He learned more through Draco's tutoring classes than he had that whole year. He hoped it would help his N.E.W.T. scores, as he wanted to go into Auror training in the fall. Hermione and Professor McGonagall had both assured him that he should do well enough to get into the training with no problems.

Harry had decided to accept Minerva's offer of the DADA teaching position. After fighting Voldemort and his Death Eaters for so many years, he no longer wanted to spend the rest of his life putting said life on the line.

Unbeknownst to Harry and Bill, there were plans afoot. Molly and Charlie had finally gotten it out of Severus that he was going to ask Bill to bond with him after the end of the term. He and Charlie, who planned on asking Harry at graduation, were planning a dual ceremony. Sirius and Remus made several trips to Gringotts in Diagon Alley. They had, with Harry's permission, raided the Potter vault, trying to find the bonding rings they knew were in there. Harry didn't know why they wanted into the vault, but gave his permission anyway. They finally found them, along with piles of pictures and photo albums that they brought back for Harry.

Severus had visited the Prince vault and brought back his family's bonding rings. The Weasleys had decided that Ron and Hermione would use the Weasley bonding rings for their marriage.

When Harry came back to their rooms after classes, he had been stunned to see pictures of the original Marauders, photos of Lily, James and Harry, photos of Sirius and Remus holding Harry all adorning the walls. The photo that broke Harry's resolve not to cry was a photo of Albus Dumbledore holding an infant Harry. He had sobbed in Charlie's arms after seeing that photo, scaring Sirius and Remus. Charlie had just held Harry, rubbing his back and whispering to him.

Sirius knelt down next to Harry and rubbed his hand up and down Harry's arm. "What's wrong, Bambi? What's made you cry like this?"

"I-I miss h-him S-Siri. I know he was manipulative as hell, but I still m-miss him." Harry buried his head back in Charlie's neck.

Bill and Severus came into the room and were confused and concerned by Harry's tears. Remus walked over to them and explained. Severus, in an unexpected move, crouched down and placed his fingers under Harry's chin, moving his head so that Harry could look into his eyes.

"I'm certain he misses you, as well. You know, he loved you like the grandson he never had. I know he would have wanted to see what you have become, but, rest assured, Harry, he knows."

Harry continued to sob in Charlie's arms, eventually falling asleep. After Charlie laid him in their bed, so that he could sleep undisturbed, he rejoined the rest in the sitting area.

"Thank you Severus. He may not have said anything, but I know that meant a lot to him."

"It was nothing more than the truth. He did love Harry as a grandson. He had always looked on the four Marauders and Lily as his children, far more than any others. He never forgave himself for not talking them into using him as their secret keeper. Once he found out about the abuse, Harry said that he had tried to find another place for him to stay."

"The Ministry refused to allow him to stay with me and Remus. Why would they allow the insane former convict and a werewolf to care for him? No matter that that is what Lily and James' wills stated they wanted. I didn't know until we went through the vault and found the pictures. We got the goblins started on looking over Harry's affairs, making sure that the Ministry didn't take anything from him."

"Do you think they did?" Charlie was curious.

"I do. I know that there had been more than one vault when James and Lily were alive, but the only one Harry's ever seen is just the one for his trust fund. There should be at least one other, maybe two."

Bill joined the conversation. "Well, if anything went wrong or was stolen, the Gringotts goblins will find it. I'll contact them tomorrow to see if anything has been found."

~OOooOO~

Bill went to Gringotts the next day, followed by a protective Severus. Not only did Bill want to see if they had found anything, but he also needed to inform them of his pregnancy, to see if that would affect his transfer.

They were met by the head goblin and led into a private room. The head goblin explained what they had found. The Ministry had indeed stolen two of three vaults belonging to Harry Potter. They were currently working to get back the monies and valuables stolen. As they had proof that Fudge had started removing items from the vaults after Harry had started school at Hogwarts, they were within their rights to demand his entire estate be liquidated to make restitution to Harry. Most of it had been bought with the stolen money anyway. Bill told them to wait. He would ask Harry if he wanted to keep the estate or have it liquidated.

The goblin had actually laughed when he had been informed of Bill's pregnancy. He reassured Bill that it wouldn't affect his transfer and he could continue to work there up to his 8th month. They would hold his position for him, should he want it after the baby was born.

They went back to Hogwarts to inform Harry, Charlie, Sirius and Remus what had happened. Harry was livid.

"Not only did that bastard try to harm me, but he's been stealing from me as well. I want to look at the stuff he bought. I may want to keep it. If not, I'll have Gringotts sell it. I can't believe this! What the Hell did I ever do to him? Does he do this to every orphan? Gringotts might want to check into that, to make sure I was the only one. A lot of kids my age were orphaned in the first war."

Bill and Charlie agreed. Bill would see to it and made plans to go back the following Saturday. Harry demanded to be allowed to go, too. Sirius would accompany him, as his guardian.


	22. Chapter 22

~OOooOO~

Saturday arrived and with it, a very anxious and uptight Harry. Charlie and Severus had given Harry one calming potion already, and were armed with several more. Sirius was going, so that he could act in place of Harry, as his guardian.

Once they were at Gringotts, the goblins asked for, and received, permission for Sirius to act in Harry's stead. "Only if I am asked what I want first." They all agreed.

"Mr. Potter, we were aware that, before the first of September, 1991, you had three vaults belonging to you. Once we were alerted to the possibility of theft, we found that two of those vaults had been cleared of all monies and heirlooms. These vaults were the hereditary Potter vaults, passed to you from your father, James Potter. Once we began to look into the thefts, we found that one Cornelius Fudge, former Minister of Magic, had cleared these vaults and taken possession of the items therein. He used the monies to purchase his estate and had, unfortunately, sold quite a few of the heirlooms in order to complete the furnishing of his manor house. We are taking steps to recover the heirlooms, but we need to know what you wish done with the estate itself."

The goblin passed Harry photos of the house and grounds to Harry, so that he could see what his money had bought. They showed a beautiful estate with a large manor house. The photos of the inside of the house were astonishing. The money, it seemed, had been spent to furnish the house in a truly horrible style.

"Sell off the interior furnishings. Anything that does not match an inventory of the original vaults needs to be sold. I will keep the estate and house. Recover as much as you are able." Harry handed the photos back to the goblin.

The goblin looked at Sirius for confirmation. "Do as he says. Anything that was not listed as being in the vaults needs to be sold, so that Mr. Potter and his fiance are able to purchase suitable furnishings for their new home."

The goblin nodded and moved to leave, but was stopped by a much older, regal looking goblin. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Black? I am Arnog. I am the current director of Gringotts Bank. I cannot express how much disgrace this conveys upon the name of Gringotts. We wish to offer compensation, in the form of gold and silver to Mr. Potter. It is our fault that this was allowed to happen, and so, must make amends. Is this offer accepted by Mr. Potter?"

Harry looked at Bill, who nodded. Harry, in turn, nodded at Sirius. "Yes, Mr. Potter accepts your kind offer of compensation. He will accept whatever you wish to compensate him with."

The director of the bank seemed pleased. "Thank you, Mr. Potter, for accepting. It is unacceptable for something of this nature to be allowed to happen. Gringotts Bank sincerely apologizes and we will send notification of the amount and type of compensation."

"Thank you, Director Arnog. May your gold always flow and your silver always shine." Sirius bowed to the bank director, who returned the compliment.

~OOooOO~

Graduation was fast approaching. There were only two more weeks until the last day of the term and then, they would be free. Ron was eagerly anticipating beginning Auror training in the fall and Hermione had applied to the London University of Magical Law. She was planning on becoming the finest lawyer the wizarding world had ever seen.

Harry had formally accepted Minerva's offer of DADA professor and would begin teaching about 6 weeks before the baby was due. A temporary substitute had been found in Sirius Black, who would cover for Harry, until he was able to resume teaching. Charlie was going to continue as the Care of Magical Creatures instructor, as he had told Harry he would over the Christmas holiday.

Draco had finally caught up to where he needed to be and had just finished taking his N.E.W.T.s, a month ahead of when he had been planning on taking them. He, Blaise, Harry and Hermione had become rather good friends during his tutoring. Ron had really never warmed up to him, but he no longer wanted to kill Draco, figuring that the students at Durmstrang had punished him enough.

Harry knew something was being planned by Charlie, Severus, Molly, Sirius and Remus, but neither he nor Bill could figure out what it was. They both figured that it was something to do with the babies, but, since no one would tell them anything, they were left in the dark.

With Minerva's assistance, the planning for the dual bonding ceremony was right on track. It was going to be held immediately following the graduation ceremony. Both Charlie and Severus were planning on asking their respective mates during the graduation ceremony itself. Severus was going to ask first, before the ceremony, but in front of everyone attending. Charlie was going to wait until Harry had his certificate in his hand before asking as he walked down the line of instructors.

~OOooOO~

The day dawned, bright and cheerful. The muted sounds of early celebrations were heard all over the castle. Fred and George had volunteered to supply fireworks for the bonding ceremonies and had created several just for the couples.

Hermione, as the Head Girl and valedictorian, had given a speech before being completely forgotten when Severus had knelt down in front of Bill and asked him to marry him. Bill had blushed, his face matching his hair, before nodding yes. Severus had placed a simple gold band with a single diamond on his finger. The audience had applauded loudly, with some whistles and cat-calls.

All of the graduating students lined up, much as they had seven long years before, and were called, one by one, to receive their certificates. Soon, but not soon enough in Harry's opinion, Professor McGonagall reached the letter 'P'.

"Parvati Patil...Harry Potter." The entire Hall stood and cheered when Harry reached Minerva to accept his certificate. He flushed and shook his head. He knew that most of them, including himself, had not expected him to live to see this day.

He slowly made his way down the line of instructors, never noticing that Minerva had not called anyone after him. He shook hands with Severus and Bill, laughing when Bill pulled him in for a quick hug. Charlie was next and he took a deep breath, hoping that Charlie wasn't going to embarrass him by snogging him in front of everyone.

Charlie didn't stay in the line. He moved out, so that he was standing directly in front of Harry. Harry raised an eyebrow but halted. His jaw dropped when Charlie knelt down.

"Harry, I love you. More than I ever thought I could love something that wasn't a dragon." Laughter rang out from the audience. "I am asking you, begging you...please marry me? I want to be with you for the rest of our lives, sharing everything with you and our children. Please put me out of my misery and say yes?"

Harry joined Charlie on the floor and nodded, throwing his arms around his dragon handler. Then he did what he had hoped Charlie wouldn't. Cupping his hand behind Charlie's head, he drew him in for a gentle kiss, not caring who saw, not hearing the eruption of noise and cheers from the gathered families.


	23. Chapter 23

~OOooOO~

After the graduation ceremonies were over, everyone moved into little groups of families and friends. Occasionally, a student would leap out of one circle and join another, only to grab an arm and drag someone else back to their own little circle. Gradually, families split off, some leaving by the front doors, others by floo, but all heading to their respective homes with their new graduates.

Harry watched this happen and smiled. He didn't know where he was going to live yet, but he knew that he and Charlie would be together. Minerva walked up to their rather large group and pulled Harry aside.

"I wanted to let you know that you have two options for living quarters. As you and Charlie are now engaged, you have the right to demand family quarters here in the castle. We can also enlarge Charlie's hut, so that there are actual bedrooms. I will let you and Charlie make this decision."

Harry smiled brilliantly at her. "Thank you Professor McGonagall. I'll talk to Charlie about it and we'll get back to you. Hopefully we can figure out what we want before we leave for the Burrow. Molly and Arthur are throwing a graduation party for Ron, me and Hermione. You'll come?"

Minerva gave Harry a tight hug and smiled a watery smile at him. "You're sure you want your old Professor at a graduation party?" Harry nodded quickly. "Well, then, of course I will be there. I wouldn't miss your first foray into the adult world for anything." She smiled again and moved on to others in the large group.

Harry felt arms surround him, hands resting on his protruding belly. He leaned back and sighed happily. "What did Minerva want?"

"She wanted to know where we want to live. If we live here in the castle, we will get a family suite. If we want, we can enlarge the hut, add bedrooms and, hopefully, a kitchen." He turned in Charlie's arms. "Where do you want to live?"

"Wherever you are is fine with me. For the last 9 years, I've been living in a one-room shack on a dragon reserve in Romania. That hut has become home over the last year, but, for you, I will live in the castle. If that's what you want."

Harry thought for a moment. "No, I want to live in our own place. You're going to teach, so am I. I want to have our own place, outside of the castle. Bill and Severus will be living here, I think that's enough Weasleys inside the castle. Let Professor McGonagall enlarge the hut. I want to raise our child there. We'll make it a proper home. I've never really had a home all my own before. I think I want that, more than living in the castle."

Charlie hugged Harry close, relishing the feel of his fiance, belly and all. His child was in there...they had created a life. And, together, he and Harry would create their own life. Just them and the baby.

Harry felt himself melt into Charlie's embrace, knowing that he never wanted to leave the safety of those strong, strong arms. They both turned and released each other, reluctantly, when Severus walked up to them.

"We have been requested to join Minerva, Remus and Sirius outside. I was asked to yank you apart and force you to follow me." So saying, he turned and stalked to the doors of the Great Hall.

Harry and Charlie looked at each other and then back at Severus as he took Bill's hand and led him to the entry hall. They followed, only now noticing that they were the only people still in the Great Hall. The entry hall was empty as well, except for Bill and Severus. As a group, all four of them stepped through the doors of the castle and into a dream.

Several tables from the Great Hall had been moved to the forecourt and were covered in linens and place settings. Crystal goblets sparkled and shone in the bright sunlight. There was a large arbor, covered with roses standing off to one side, in front of chairs filled with their friends and family. This is where Severus and Charlie led their fiances.

"What...?" Harry began, but a gentle finger on his lips stopped him.

"You said yes, but you didn't tell me when. How about right now?" Charlie looked at Severus, who was trying to convey the same thing to Bill.

"Together? Both us and them? Now?" Harry was stunned. He leapt into Charlie's arms and snogged him soundly. Pressing his forehead against Charlie's he whispered one word.

"Yes."

~~~~~~~~~OOOOOOOOOOOO~~~~~~~~~~~

_**Sorry it took so long, but had a bit of an emergency I had to take care of and couldn't take my laptop with me.**_

_**I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I will be posting other stories as soon as I have enough to warrant posting.**_

_**Thank you for all the kind reviews...you are the ones who kept this story going. **_

_**Vindiciae Nuptia will be next, but it won't go as easily for Harry as this one did. I have some ideas, but if you have any, go to that story and leave me a review to help the story out, please!**_


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